Angels Flying Too Close To The Ground
by tutorwife93
Summary: When Cate and Baze's 12 year old daughter, Emma, is diagnosed with Leukemia and needs a bone marrow donor, they will stop at nothing to help her. Even if that means reconnecting with the daughter they gave up 16 years ago.
1. The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore

**A/N: So basically exactly what the summary says- Cate and Baze got together shortly after giving Lux up. When they were twenty, Cate got pregnant again and neither could bare to give up the baby again so they got married and had a daughter Emmaline Isabel "Emma" Bazile.**

**When Emma was twelve, she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and six months later, she is still fighting for her life.**

**When the doctors tell Cate and Baze that Emma's only hope is a bone marrow transplant and neither of them is a match, they go looking for the daughter they gave up when they were sixteen.**

**Oh and Cate was a radio host like on the show but she gave it up when Emma was diagnosed, and Baze sold the bar and became an accountant like his father when Emma was born. Lux is in foster care like on the show.**

**And just so you know, the only information I know about Leukemia is what I've learned from Google so sorry in advance if it's wrong, but I'll do my best to keep it as realistic as possible.**

**First chapter's kind of random, but it'll get much better as the story goes on so please review! :)**

**Chapter One- The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore**

The bruises were the first sign. Down her back, her arms and legs. When Cate asked where she got them, Emma simply shrugged and said she didn't know. Baze was next to know that something was wrong. Emma's frequent nose bleeds and fatigue caused him to worry, but the second she passed out, Baze freaked out.

_Six months ago_

_Thirty year old Baze couldn't wipe the smile off of his face as he watched his twelve year old daughter giggling nervously with her friends while they waited for the practice group before them to finish their dance. Emma was a complete girly girl. Her life revolved around dance and school, she loved to dress up and neither Baze nor Cate could pinpoint where she got her constant bubbly, confident personality from. She was close with Cate, but Emma had Baze wrapped around her little finger._

_Baze watched as Emma ran to the center of the stage and spun in perfect sync with the rest of the group. He couldn't help but noticed that she was the best. Of course, he might be a little bit biased. Emma's blonde locks were held back in a tight bun; a pink ribbon tied around it. Never in a million years would Cate and Baze had thought they would have a blonde child, but Emma followed after Cate with the rest of her looks._

_Baze didn't even think as he rushed forward, watching as Emma stopped dancing before dropping to the floor. The other girls around Emma along with her teacher crowded around as Baze knelt beside her, shaking her gently. "Emma? Emma? Wake up sweetie."_

_Emma came to after a few seconds, pale and incoherent. "Daddy?" She mumbled, her words slurred._

_Baze caught his breath, pulling his phone out of his back pocket and speed dialing Cate. "Hold tight, kiddo." Baze smiled reassuringly, brushing back Emma's hair. "You're okay."_

_Cate didn't answer and Baze couldn't help but panic as he lifted a weak Emma into his arms and carried her out to the car. By the time they arrived home, Emma was fast asleep in the backseat and Baze had managed to get a hold of Cate._

_"What happened?" Cate came rushing out of the house towards the car and opened the back door, gently shaking Emma's shoulder. "Emma? Sweetie, wake up."_

_Emma slowly stirred, struggling to keep her eyes open as Baze carried her inside. She was tired. She had been for weeks now, but she just put it down to a bug._

_Cate sat on the edge of the couch once Baze had laid her down and stroked back her hair reassuringly, listening as Baze called the doctor. She couldn't help but notice how much weight Emma had lost off of her already stick thin body. She had dark bags under her eyes and her skin was unnaturally pale._

_It was two days before Emma could get in to see the doctor, and another day after that until the blood tests came back. The second the GP had handed Cate a business card for an oncologist, Baze's world had come crashing down._

Present Day

Cate and Baze sat side by side, hands clasped as they stared at the doctor. Neither knew how to react. They thought they had heard everything when the hospital had told them their daughter had cancer; Stage Four Acute Myeloid Leukemia to be exact. They had held her as she cried; gripped her hand as the doctors ran test after test; held back her hair as she vomited; held her hand as she lost her hair from the two rounds of chemo and radiation she had already endured; supported her through the toughest six months of her life, yet somehow now, they were helpless.

Doctor Samuels sat opposite them, looking at them sympathetically. One of the things he hated the most about his job, was telling parents and patients there was little if not anything left to do but wait.

Today he had watched as the two parents before him tried to take in the news that neither of them was a bone marrow match, or that the possibility of finding one to match Emma's blood type was extremely rare.

"Do wh-what do we do now?" Cate's voice was choked with tears she was struggling to keep at bay. "Do we try another round of chemo, or do we just wait for a donor to come along?"

Dr. Samuels frowned. "The chances of finding a donor with the same blood type as Emma is very unlikely."

"But it's not impossible." Baze was clearly trying to process the information as he stared at the wall.

Dr. Samuels shook his head. "No. It's not impossible, but I want you to understand the chances of finding one are very slim. The two of you were our best hope."

Cate stifled a sob, covering her mouth with her hand and turning towards Baze as she struggled to remain strong.

"Shouldn't we be a match? We're her parents." Baze almost sounded angry, though Dr. Samuels could tell he was just scared.

Again Dr. Samuels shook his head sympathetically. "Not necessarily. It's possible for children and parents to have different marrow types. We'll test other relatives just in case, but the best bet is a sibling."

Neither Cate nor Baze replied, though Cate sat up, clarity suddenly covering her face.

"She has a sister." Cate's voice was barely audible though Baze didn't need to hear what she had said to know what she was suggesting.

"Cate..." Baze didn't know how to respond. Emma didn't have a sister. She was a single child who's parents had made a mistake in high school and a child had resulted from it. Hell, they didn't even know the kid's name.

Cate turned to the doctor, her eyes wide as she relayed the information. "We had a baby in high school. A baby girl. And we gave her up for adoption, but we can get her back. We can get her back and she can get tested and donate."

Dr. Samuels looked surprised to say the least. "If the child and their legal guardian agrees for them to get tested, we can determine whether they're a match with Emma or not. At this stage, any option is helpful."

Cate nodded fiercely in agreement, clearly trying to avoid thinking about the fact that their daughter was currently fighting for her life.

"I'd like to tell Emma now, if that's okay with you. If we can't find a donor, we'll need to try another round of radiation."

Baze nodded and placed a hand on Cate's back, leading her out of the room and down the corridor of the Pediatric Oncology Wing towards Emma's room.

"Hi, baby." Cate forced a smile as she and Baze entered Emma's hospital room, Dr. Samuels close behind. Emma looked up from the magazine and smiled, though her expression changed when she noticed the looks on both of their faces.

"No good, huh?" Emma frowned slightly, referring to both the bone marrow testing and the latest round of chemo she had endured.

Cate's eyes filled with tears and she took a seat on one side of the bed, Baze going to the other. "We're not giving up though, okay?" Cate whispered, grasping one of Emma's hands.

Emma nodded and forced a smile for her parents sake, squeezing Cate's hand reassuringly before turning to the doctor. "So what now? We try radiation again?"

Dr. Samuels smiled sympathetically. "We're going to test other relatives, and check the national registry to see if we can find a stranger match. But if we can't, we'll get you started on a thirty-day radiation cycle asap."

Emma nodded, holding back the freshly forming tears in her eyes. "Okay." She forced herself to be strong, not wanting to show her parents how she was really feeling.

"We're going to beat this, Em." Baze whispered, bending over to place a kiss to the top of Emma's bald head. "I promise."


	2. Do You Ever Wonder

**Chapter 2- Do You Ever Wonder**

Cate tiredly unlocked the front door and pushed it open, slowly trudging. "Can you get Emma's art book? It's on her desk. I'm going to shower quickly."

Baze nodded and placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them comfortingly before they separated and headed into different rooms. Baze headed into Emma's room and headed over to her desk, sorting through the mess until he found Emma's drawing book.

Emma was a mixture of both of her parents in terms of personality. She was artistic and loved to dance and draw, which was part of her own individualism, yet at the same time she excelled in both sports and schooling. At least, that was, before the cancer.

Baze looked around the room and quickly grabbed a few fresh clothes, packing them into one of Emma's overnight bags.

Cate showered and changed quickly before checking what Baze was doing, relieved when she saw he was busy making coffee. She rushed into their room and into the closet, searching on the top shelf for the shoebox they kept their containing birth and medical records.

Cate sat on the bed with the shoebox, searching through it slowly. She sorted a few of the medical records she had for Emma, frustrated when she couldn't find what she was looking for.

Baze stopped at the door when he saw what Cate was doing, although Cate didn't even look up to acknowledge his arrival. "What are you doing?" His voice held mostly confusion, mixed with a little concern and anger as he suspected he already knew.

"Where's her birth certificate?" Cate asked without looking up, but Baze knew which her she was looking for.

"Cate..." Baze crossed the room and carefully took the papers out of Cate's hands.

"They're not going to believe us if we don't have her birth certificate." Cate pulled the box closer, continuing to flip through it.

"Cate..." Baze sighed tiredly, deciding what to say. "We don't need proof. We're not going to go looking for her. We'll find another way, another donor."

Cate looked up at her husband, a mixture of anger and fear covering her features. "There is no other option, Baze! If there were, don't you think we would have used it already?"

"We'll find a way, Cate." Baze felt his heart breaking as Cate began to cry. "But this isn't it."

Cate was exhausted and she looked up at Baze pleadingly. "There's no one else."

Baze slowly moved the papers away from Cate, sitting down on the bed next to her. "We'll find someone. We have to. But she can't be it. It's not fair."

"She'll want to help. She's Emma's sister." Cate argued, convincing herself.

Baze rubbed his face exhaustedly, not sure how to make Cate understand. She had thrown everything into getting Emma better. They both had, but Baze at least had work distract him during the day. Cate, on the other hand, had spent every waking hour watching their daughter suffer. He almost couldn't blame her for wanting to sacrifice one daughter's life to save the other. Almost.

"Cate... biologically yes, she is Em's sister, our daughter, but for all we know, she might have her own siblings. Her own family. She might not even know she's adopted. It's not fair for us to just barge into her life and ask her to help someone she doesn't even know!" He didn't mean to yell, but when Cate was determined, there was nothing stopping her. Combine that with the fact that neither of them had slept properly in six months, and it was easy to become frustrated.

Cate stood up quickly, eyes wide. "Emma's going to die without that transplant! She's our daughter! How can you just stand by and watch her die?" Cate felt like she was choking; her voice hitched as she panicked.

"They both are, Cate!"

Cate looked taken back for a few moments, before she covered her mouth and turned away from Baze, her shoulders shaking as she began to sob.

Baze acted quickly, turning Cate around and wrapping his arms around her tightly. He breathed in the scent of her hair, holding the back of her head as she cried.

After a few minutes, Baze could tell Cate was struggling to keep herself up, so he picked her up and laid her on the bed, laying a blanket over her and stroking back her hair affectionately.

Cate couldn't help but smile slightly. She had missed this; the two of them. Ever since they had found out Emma was sick, their marriage had taken a back seat. She missed him.

As if reading her thoughts, Baze smiled at her lovingly, leaning over and holding a kiss to Cate's forehead, both savoring the contact.

"Emma?" Baze pulled back and stroked Cate's cheek reassuringly, understanding the question.

"I'll go stay with her. You need to sleep." Baze's tone left no room for argument, and to be honest, Cate was too tired to protest so she simply nodded slowly.

Baze stood up and readjusted the blanket over Cate's half-asleep form, bending over and kissing her forehead gently once more gathering the shoebox and leaving the room.

Baze sighed as he headed to the kitchen, filling up a travel mug full of coffee as he quickly flipped through the papers. To be honest, he was torn. What Cate had said was right; Emma would die without a bone marrow transplant, and he knew that it would be hard if not impossible to find a donor who was not a family member. But on the other hand, guilt had racked him ever since they had handed their first daughter over to social services. If she was happy, he couldn't bare to hurt her anymore than they already had.

By the time Baze arrived at the hospital, it was close to 12pm and Emma was fast asleep. She was, however, a light sleeper despite the drugs flowing through her system and she stirred as Baze opened the door to her room.

"Daddy?" Emma whispered half-asleep, squinting as Baze crept into the dark room and took a seat in the chair by her bed.

Baze smiled tiredly, kissing Emma's cheek softly. "Hey, princess."

Emma's smiled tiredly at the nickname, struggling to keep her eyes open. "Where's mom?"

"At home sleeping. She was exhausted so I'm going to stay tonight, okay?" For her entire life, Emma had hated being alone, so Cate and Baze made sure that at least one of them slept at the hospital with her when she was there.

Emma nodded, closing her eyes as she slowly fumbled around for Baze's hand. Baze smiled, taking Emma's weak one and rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand.

"I'm sorry." Emma whispered after a few moments of silence.

Baze frowned concerned, watching her. "What are you sorry for?"

Emma didn't reply for a few seconds and Baze was sure she was asleep. "Getting sick. Making you and mom worry so much."

"Emma..." Baze felt his eyes filling with tears at his daughter's confession. "Baby, you being sick isn't your fault. Mom and I could never, _ever_ blame you, okay? We love you so much."

Emma smiled slightly, squeezing Baze's hand loosely as she drifted to sleep. "I'm trying to beat this, daddy... but it's really hard."

Baze nodded, a loose tear slipping down his cheek as he watched Emma sleep. In that moment, he vowed to do everything he could to make sure Emma got better. Even if it meant finding his other daughter.


	3. If You Ever Did Believe

**A/N: Okay so Cate and Baze committing a felony was the only way I could think of for them to get Lux's information! Because let's face it, social services would never give out that information and due to the story, it had to be Cate and Baze who found Lux however I did like the idea from GoddessofYouth. Anyway, I was nervous about this chapter, but I hope it worked**

**Chapter 3- If You Ever Did Believe**

Baze sighed, reaching over to place a stilling hand on Cate's bouncing knee. Cate stopped bouncing, fumbling shakily to link her fingers with Baze's. They had been sitting in the waiting room of Portland Social Services for exactly fourteen minutes now, and Cate had been freaking out for every one of them.

It had been three days since they had made the decision to find the daughter they gave up for adoption, and after extensive searching and a lot of dead ends, they had finally tracked down their daughter's social worker.

"Cate Cassidy?" An African-American woman approached them, holding out her hand. "I'm Fern Walters. I understand you wanted to see me."

Cate nodded and smiled politely, standing up alongside Baze as she shook Fern's hand. "This is my husband, Baze."

"Nice to meet you." Fern smiled and shook Baze's hand, her attention on both of them. "What can I do for you?"

Cate nervously glanced at Baze who squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Is there somewhere we can talk in private?"

Fern nodded curiously and led the way to her office. "You'll have to excuse the mess. It's been a very busy day."

Cate and Baze took a seat across the desk from Fern, trying to decide where to start. It was strange. They had told the story of Emma having cancer countless times in the last six months, but for some reason, now seemed to be the hardest.

"We had a daughter when we were sixteen. Lux Cassidy." Baze started. The name still felt weird coming from his mouth. One of the social workers they had talked to had informed them that a nurse at the hospital where she had been born had named her.

Cate took over. "We gave her up for adoption, but we need to get her back." Fern frowned in confusion and was about to ask what they were talking about, but Cate interrupted her. "Our daughter- our _other_ daughter, has leukemia, and she needs a bone marrow transplant. Lux is our only option for a donor." Cate left out the part that they didn't even know if she would be a match.

Fern looked taken back for a few moments, before her expression turned to sympathy and she sighed apologetically. "I'm very sorry to hear about your daughter, but I'm sorry, what you're asking is not a possibility. When you signed Lux over to the state, you gave away all rights to have any involvement in her life. Should Lux choose to contact you, she can do so at age 18, but I can't legally give you any information about her whereabouts."

They figured as much, but that didn't take away the disappointment. "You don't understand, Emma's going to die without that transplant." Cate's voice was begging, her eyes glassing over.

Fern frowned apologetically as her phone began ring. "Like I said, I'm very sorry, but that is not a possibility." She glanced at the caller ID, frowning before looking up. "Please excuse me. I need to take this."

Cate and Baze watched as Fern answered the call and left the room, obviously wanting privacy. Cate instantly turned into Baze, burying her head in his shoulder as he rubbed her back soothingly.

"What now?" Cate's voice cracked as she struggled to keep herself from crying. To be honest, it was the only thing she felt like doing. Cate felt like she was losing control; Cate _hated_ losing control.

Baze thought for a second before acting; the only thing he wanted was to end his girls' pain. He pulled away from Cate and rushed to the other side of the desk, trying to figure out how to access information on the computer.

"What are you doing?" Cate asked in a hushed scowl, glancing at the door nervously.

Baze didn't reply, breathing a sigh of relief as he pulled up a database search page and quickly typed in the information they knew, more relieved than ever as Lux's record came up.

He quickly grabbed a pen and a piece of paper to record the address before closing the page and sitting back down just in time for Fern to return. "Sorry about that." Fern apologized, sitting back in her seat.

Baze stood up, Cate quickly following. "Sorry we've wasted your time." He apologized and shook Fern's hand quickly, before placing a hand on Cate's back and leading her out of the office; Fern watching confused.

"This is it." Cate said softly, rechecking the address with the house. Baze made his way to her side, placing a hand on her back as he led her up the steps towards the house.

Cate glanced up at Baze nervously before ringing the doorbell, debating whether or not to turn and run before it was answered.

"Yeah?" An older haggard woman stood before them, clearly not happy with them being there.

Cate tried to speak but found herself choked up on words. She looked up at Baze desperately, and Baze nervously cleared his throat. "We're looking for Lux Cassidy? Her social worker said she lived here." So what if it wasn't completely true.

The woman turned and walked back into the house, leaving Cate and Baze standing on the doorstep. "Lux!" She yelled down the hall before she disappeared out of view,

Cate and Baze exchanged a glance, Baze squeezing Cate's shoulder comfortingly. A young blonde girl came down the hallway, almost tripping as a red haired boy and what looked to be his younger brother deliberately collided with her.

"Stewie!" Lux yelled frustrated, balancing herself as the boys ran off laughing.

Lux walked down the hallway and stopped at the door, looking over Cate and Baze in confusion. "Can I help you?" Her tone was sarcastic as Cate and Baze starred at her, neither talking. Cate and Baze continued to stare and Lux rolled her eyes, waving her hand in front of their faces to get their attention. "Hello?"

Baze snapped out of his gaze, looking quickly at Cate as the brunette's eyes glassed over, her mouth open. "Lux?"

Lux nodded as if it was obvious, frowning. "Do I know you?" Her tone was slightly bitter as she folded her arms over her chest.

"I'm Baze, this is Cate." Baze found himself more concerned about Lux's wellbeing than he was about telling her who they were. "Do you live here?"

Lux frowned, confused but found herself answering nonetheless. "They wanted a babysitter. I got a foster family. Not that it's any of your business." Lux shrugged bitterly, pausing in confusion before continuing. "How do you know my name?"

"I-uh..." Baze didn't know what to say.

Cate surprised both of them by answering instantly. "We're your parents."

Lux rolled her eyes and went to close the door. "Right, and I'm Santa Claus."

Baze stopped the door with his foot before it could slam shut, catching Lux off guard. "Just hear us out, okay?" He basically begged.

Lux thought for a second before opening the door and folding her arms over chest protectively, nodding slightly for them to continue. When neither of them could find words, Lux rolled her eyes, trying to push aside the disappointment. "Look, no offence, but I have no idea who you are, and to be honest, I don't really want to know. You're not my parents. My parents didn't want me when I was born, why would they want me now?" Lux turned to walk back inside but Cate reached out and grabbed her arm before she could.

"Lux, you have to understand, we were sixteen years old! We couldn't be parents."

Lux yanked her arm away from Cate hostilely, her voice full of anger. "Let go of me."

"Lux..."

Lux struggled to keep herself in check, avoiding her parents' gazes. "So why are you here now then?" She finally asked.

Cate and Baze exchanged a glance, both knowing they had only one shot at this. "We need your help." Baze finally started, watching Lux for any reaction.

Lux raised an eyebrow in confusion, her arms crossing tighter as she signaled for him to continue.

"Our daughter, _your sister_, has leukemia." He spoke slowly, trying to get Lux emotionally involved. "It's stage 4. And she's going to die if she doesn't get a bone marrow transplant. Neither Cate or I are a match... but the doctors said that you could be."

Lux starred at her parents in shock; her expression changing from surprise to disappointment to anger. "So you just want to use me?" She was hurt; scratch that, hurt was an understatement.

"Lux, you don't understand." Cate's voice was basically pleading. "We wouldn't ask if there was another way."

Lux turned away to gather herself, struggling to hold back her tears. "No _you_ don't understand!" Her barriers broke; angry tears filling her eyes. "You can't do that! You can't just barge back into my life to use me to save your kid!" Her voice dropped; her tone monotone. "You can't ask me to help save the kid you actually wanted when you just- when you just gave me away like I didn't matter to you. Because I didn't."

Cate found herself crying too, while Baze seemed to be struggling to keep himself together. Every word Lux had said was true. They didn't care about her. Not when they were sixteen. It was just them caring about themselves, but not one day since then had they not found themselves thinking about her, wondering about her, hoping she was okay.

"Lux..." Baze tried to reach out to her, but Lux just pulled away, glaring at him.

"Get out." Lux pushed away all of her disappointment; her tone full of anger. "Get out!"

Cate choked back a sob, turning and leaving almost straight away, no longer able to stand the situation. Baze, however, hung back for a few seconds, watching as Lux broke, and feeling like he was about to do the same thing from the pain they had caused her.


	4. Give Peace A Chance

**Chapter 4- Give Peace A Chance**

Lux hadn't slept in almost two days, and the bags under her eyes proved that. Lux had spent the majority of her life shutting herself off from people to keep from getting hurt, but for some reason, the fact that her shutting herself off could be causing someone else hurt was getting to her.

Lux had spent the last few hours wandering around aimlessly. She didn't want to go to school; there was really no point and she wasn't in the mood for dealing with Tasha, so instead she went for a walk.

Lux had no idea how but somehow she made her way to the hospital, unable to stop herself as she walked inside and immediately searched for the Pediatric Children's Wing before making her way over to the desk.

"I'm looking for a patient. Her last name's either Cassidy or Bazile." Lux bit her lip nervously.

The clerk was clearly new as she smiled knowingly. "Emma?"

Lux smirked at how easy that had been and nodded. "Can you tell me what room she's in?"

The clerk smiled and pointed down the hall. "Room 1429. It's just down the hall."

"Thanks." Lux turned and slowly made her way down the hall, constantly checking around herself. The last thing she wanted was for her parents to see her.

She stopped when she saw the room and stealthily crept closer to check inside, making sure neither Cate nor Baze were in there. She sighed in relief when she noticed they weren't, and slowly pushed the door open.

"Hi." Lux hung nervously by the door, glancing around unsure.

Emma smiled and lowered her magazine, watching Lux curiously. "Hi. Can I help you?"

Lux shrugged, not sure whether to tell her who she was or not. It was hard enough for her to process it, let alone Emma.

"Are you a volunteer or something?" Emma asked patiently, smiling politely.

Lux scoffed softly, amused. "Do I look like one?"

Emma rolled her eyes and Lux was surprised at how much she looked like herself when she did that. "Well you obviously don't work here and I've never met you before, so yeah, I'd say that's a fair assumption."

Lux nodded dismissingly, rocking on her heels uncomfortably. "Where are your parents?"

"Dad's at work and I sent my mom home to sleep." Emma's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why? Do you know them or something?"

Lux shrugged, closing the door behind her and walking a few steps into the room. "You could say that."

Emma sat up in bed and nodded to the chair beside her. "Do you want to sit?"

"Thanks." Lux took the seat, both girls simply watching each other, an awkward silence filling the room as neither knew what to say.

"So who are you anyway?" Emma broke the silence, watching Lux curiously.

Lux bit her lip as she decided what to say before she held out her hand. "Lux."

"Lux?" Emma remained confused as she shook Lux's hand. "I'm Emma. Well, Emmaline but every calls me Emma. Except Dr. Morris but that's because he doesn't like kids. Which is pretty crazy, right? I mean, what kind of Pediatric doctor doesn't like kids?"

"You talk a lot." Lux observed jokingly, amused.

Emma blushed, before defending herself. "Yeah, well, I don't see you holding up your side of the conversation." Lux shrugged agreeably, smirking. "Who are you anyway?"

Lux rolled her eyes as Emma asked the question once again, wanting her to just drop it. "Didn't your parents ever teach you not to talk to strangers?"

Emma's expression matched Lux's as she fired back. "Well I'm not the one who started the conversation."

Lux smirked. "Feisty." She decided to give Emma an answer to tide her over; at least it was half true. "You looked bored; figured you could use to company." She sat up, suddenly unsure. "I can go if you want..."

Emma shook her head, stopping Lux as the older girl went to stand. "No. Stay. You're pretty cool."

Lux smiled, lowering her barrier for a second. "You're pretty cool yourself, kid."

Emma blushed causing Lux to smirk and change the subject. "So what are you reading?"

Emma shrugged, handing the magazine over for Lux to flip through. "Cosmo. You can have it. I've read it like four times already."

Lux raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little young to be reading Cosmo?"

Emma shrugged. "It's my mom's. I guilted her into letting me read it."

Lux smirked, amused. "Oh yeah? How'd you do that?"

"Just reminded her I had terminal cancer and I'd spent the majority of the last six months in a hospital bed." Emma shrugged bitterly.

Lux frowned, trying to keep the pity out of her tone. "Sorry."

Emma smiled half-heartedly, brushing the topic. "So what are you here for?" She paused, thinking. "Or are you like a freak who likes to hang around hospitals in their spare time?"

Lux smirked. "The latter." When Emma's eyes went wide and she shifted uncomfortably in bed, Lux laughed. "I'm joking." She clarified before shrugging. "Had to get a blood test done so I figured walking around the hospital was better than going to school."

"Ohh..." Emma seemed to buy it. "Where do you go?"

"Longfellow. But my attendance records would say differently. I'm not the biggest fan of school." She replied sarcastically.

Emma seemed surprised, her face lighting up at the topic. "Really? I love it."

Lux stifled the multiple insults on the tip of her tongue, reminding herself who she was talking to. "Where do you go?"

"Westmonte." Emma smiled proudly.

Lux pushed her jealousy aside, remaining polite. "Nice school." She acknowledged.

"It is." Emma smiled. "They've got a really great arts program plus it looks great on college applications."

Lux raised an eyebrow, curious. "Wait, aren't you like 12 or something? Shouldn't you be worrying about friends and boys and stuff rather than college."

Emma shrugged, her smile fading. "Not many boys want to be with a bald, hospital shut-in. Besides, my dad's pretty protective about that sort of thing. And when I got sick, most of my friends forgot about me. I still talk to my best friend Sarah all the time, but I can't really blame her for not visiting."

Lux frowned sympathetically before grabbing a pack of cards off of bedside table and shuffling them. "You want to play?"

Emma smiled and nodded, watching as Lux moved to sit on the bed in front of her and dealt out the cards.

Neither noticed how fast time went by, but somehow, a nurse came into the room shortly after six. "Visiting hours are over, Em." She warned kindly.

Emma nodded, disappointed, while Lux stood up unsure. "Will you come back?" Emma couldn't stop herself from asking, hopeful. Lux looked unsure, so Emma reasoned. "It'll give you another day off school."

Lux laughed, nodding. "Tell you what. When I come back in later in the week to get the results of my blood test, I'll try and swing by."

Emma smiled and nodded, watching as Lux made her way to the door before turning back. "And Emma? Don't tell your parents about me, okay?"

Emma looked confused but nodded nonetheless; Lux shooting her a quick smile before leaving her alone.

Lux made her way to the desk once again, and asked to get in contact with Emma's doctor. He was busy, the clerk informed her, but after she told the clerk what it was for, the doctor assured her he would see her within the next half an hour.

Lux made her way to the waiting room and looked around bored, before smiling as she remembered and pulling the Cosmo Emma had given her out of her bag.

"Lux Cassidy?" Lux stood up as the nurse called her name. "We're ready for you."

Lux grabbed her bag and hesitantly followed the nurse down the hallway and into an exam room where a doctor was waiting.

"I'm Dr. Samuels." He smiled, holding out a hand. "I understand you're here to get tested to see if you're a bone marrow match for Emma Bazile?"

"Lux Cassidy." Lux shook his hand politely before she nodded nervously, fidgeting with her bag strap. "Is there any way you could do this without her parents finding out?"

Dr. Samuels frowned. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen." Lux knew better than to tell the doctor she was too young to consent.

Dr. Samuels smiled and nodded, putting on a pair of gloves. "Of course. There's a few forms for you to fill out, and if you're a match, we'll contact you directly."

Lux nodded, glancing down as Dr. Samuels prepared the needle. Lux hated needles; she had spent the first three years of her life being poked and prodded, and tried to avoid doctors at all cost since. Why she was there voluntarily at the moment made no sense.

"Okay, Lux, you're going to feel a small pinch." Lux squeezed her eyes shut as Dr. Samuels inserted the needle, filling three vials before pulling it over and placing a cotton bud in its place.

"How soon will you know if I'm a match?" Lux had no idea why she was so anxious.

Dr. Samuels smiled tiredly. "A few days or so. We'll put a rush on it though. Do you know Emma?"

"Yeah. Something like that." Lux smiled to herself sincerely, before standing up and walking out of the room.


	5. Searching For A Former Clarity

**Chapter 5- Searching For A Former Clarity**

Emma had been on Lux's mind the last few days, but to be honest, Lux didn't mind. She liked her, and Lux didn't like people easily. Emma reminded her a lot of herself; well, at least how Lux wanted to be. Emma, however, let others in. She didn't have to worry about getting rejected; she was quite literally the chosen one when it came to their parents.

_Their parents._ Lux was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she had a sister. She never even thought that she might have a sibling out there, but Emma was... a pleasant surprise.

She was a pretty cool kid, and the more Lux thought about her, the less she despised her. There was always going to be the constant lingering tension regarding their parents, but Lux was never going to tell Emma who she really was, and she was betting Cate and Baze wouldn't either. As long as Lux managed to avoid Cate and Baze, she really didn't see a reason why she couldn't hang out with Emma.

Lux had made sure to avoid putting any details about her living arrangements on the forms she had filled out after the test, hence why she was currently at hospital to see if she was a match.

Lux sat nervously in the waiting room chairs, drumming her fingers on her thigh tensely. She had no idea why she was so nervous. She knew that if she wasn't a match, she could just go back to her life before. The plan had been to get emancipated when she turned 16 and move in with Bug, Tasha and Gavin, but there was a part of her now that was willing to endure two more years in foster care to avoid seeing her parents again. It literally hurt when she thought about them, and the thought of seeing them again, _asking _them for something and giving them the gratification that they were actually doing something for her was unbearable.

"Lux?" Lux stood up to see Dr. Samuels smiling and motioning her over. "Nice to see you again. How are you?"

Lux shrugged nervously, not finding any words. Dr. Samuels bought it, smiling widely as he shut the door to his office and took a seat at the desk. "The tests are back. You're HLA tissue is a five-point match for Emma's."

"What's that mean?" Lux asked confused, nervously wringing her hands.

"Well, at the moment, you're our closest match. Testing works on a six-point system to tell how adequate a patient's bone marrow is with a donor's. Perfect donors are a match to all six points, however, a five point match is also sufficient in some cases, namely a time-sensitive case like Emma's. However, there is a small mismatch of your HLA-B gene. This increases the risk of graft rejection after transplant."

"So what does that mean? I mean, can I donate or not?" Lux constantly found herself getting annoyed. It was a simple answer. Why couldn't adults just realize that?

Dr. Samuels smiled and nodded. "At this point, whatever options we have, we're exercising. We can organize the pre-anesthesia checkup for this afternoon if that's okay with you? If all is clear, you should be able to donate today as well. For Emma's sake, it's best if we do it as soon as possible."

Lux found herself suddenly nervous. Sure, she liked Emma and the news that she could potentially help her was great, but her fears were getting the best of her.

She waited a few moments before responding, gathering her thoughts. "It can be anonymous, right? She won't know who I am? Her parents won't know?

"All they'll know is that we found a possible donor." Dr. Samuels assured.

Lux nodded slowly, starring off in the distance as she tried to gather her thoughts. "I'll donate." Lux was trying to convince herself more than Dr. Samuels.

Dr. Samuels smiled, relieved. "Fantastic. You'll be under a general anesthetic so you'll need someone to come and drive you home afterwards, but the surgery shouldn't take more than an hour."

Lux froze at the word surgery but didn't know how to react. How was she supposed to tell him that one of her greatest fears was surgery?

Lux didn't even realize she had nodded until Dr. Samuels stood up and handed her some papers to fill out.

"I'm sorry. I've got to rush off, but if you talk to Susan at the desk, she'll be able to organize the harvest."

Again Lux nodded, not knowing what else to do, and slowly left the office. She slowly trudged aimlessly around the hospital; no purpose, but needing to gather her thoughts.

Eventually, however, Lux ended up back in the Pediatric Oncology Ward, repeating the same process she had the other day as checked to avoid Cate and Baze.

"Hey." Lux smiled quickly at Emma, leaning against the doorframe. "Told you I'd be back."

"Lux." Emma's pale face lit up and she smiled tiredly. Lux couldn't help but smile and took the seat beside Emma's bed; it wasn't everyday that someone was excited to see her.

"How are you feeling?" Lux asked awkwardly.

Emma felt like crap, but she forced a small smile and shrugged. She had good days and bad days, but despite what she had told Cate to get her to relax earlier, today was definitely not a good day.

Lux quickly went to stand again, embarrassed. "I can go-" She offered.

Emma shook her head quickly, instantly regretting it but forcing a smile for Lux's sake, hoping the sudden nausea would pass quickly. "I like having you here."

Lux smiled slightly, sitting back down. "So where are your parents?" Lux had to be sure.

"Work and home. Mom will be back soon though."

Lux was a little disappointed, but she refused to see Cate. "Oh. Well I can't stick around for long anyway. Got stuff to do. Just thought I'd swing by."

"Thanks." Emma whispered, slightly disappointed. She dropped her head back on her pillow and closed her eyes, breathing shakily to fight off her nausea.

Lux watched her, both concerned and nervous. "You okay?"

If possible, Emma paled even more and sat up suddenly, covering her mouth with her hand as her stomach began to contract involuntarily. Lux froze, standing and staring as Emma quickly grabbed the wash basin next to the bed and emptied her stomach contents.

Lux was freaked out and didn't know how to react, doing the only thing that seemed plausible as she reached to press the call button.

"Don't." Emma mumbled and Lux had to double check to make sure she'd heard her. Emma shakily moved the basin back onto the side table and collapsed back on the bed. "They'll call my mom." She whispered.

Lux surprised herself by speaking. "You need to get cleaned up."

Emma shook her head and reached out towards the tissues. Lux noticed what she was doing and rushed forward, grabbing the box and handing them to her. "Oh, here."

"Thanks." Emma whispered as she wiped her mouth. "Sorry. I didn't mean to gross you out. You can leave if you want."

Lux shrugged casually, smiling at Emma reassuringly as she sat back down. "I've seen worse." It wasn't a lie. More than once had she had a foster parent who liked to drink, and more than once had she had to deal with the consequences.

"Worse than this?" Emma's tone was bitter. "I'm disgusting."

Lux shook her head, reaching into her bag and pulling out a pack of gum before offering a piece to Emma. "You're sick. Not disgusting."

Lux waited a few moments before continuing, watching Emma cautiously. "It must suck though." She offered.

Emma shrugged. "Some days are better than others."

"What's it like?" Lux asked before she could stop herself.

"Having cancer?" Emma raised an eyebrow, questioning. When Lux nodded, she bit her lip. "It sucks." She answered honestly. "It hurts." She laughed bitterly to herself. "A lot." Emma paused before continuing. "But I don't care about the pain, or being sick, or any of that... I hate what it's doing to my family... my parents."

Lux nodded slowly, avoiding eye contact as she thought to herself. Her next question surprised herself, although Emma didn't seem fazed. "How are they doing with it?" She almost whispered.

Emma shrugged. "My mom, she, uh, she tries to be strong. You know, around me and everyone else. She's never really been good at letting anyone in. But my dad... he's tried to act the same around me. Like, joking as usual and stuff. But I can tell it's destroying him. Both of them. So I try to be strong when they're around. Not let them know how I'm feeling, or if I'm in pain or anything."

Lux nodded, looking up at Emma and smiling slightly, speaking on a lighter note. "You're like the perfect kid, you know that?"

Emma smiled, going along with it. "Yeah, well, what can you do?" She shrugged jokingly. "What about you? What are your parents like?"

Lux pasted on a tight smile, turning towards the TV in the room, noticing Emma had paused it when she came in. "So what are we watching?" She changed the subject.

Emma watched her suspiciously, but followed her lead nonetheless. "Rent." She smiled.

"Musical fan, huh?" Lux smirked. She personally wasn't a fan, but it wasn't surprising that Emma was.

Emma smiled and nodded. "I love them. Mom and dad took me to New York to see Wicked last year. It was amazing."

Lux smiled, watching Emma smile as she got lost in the movie before turning to the screen and doing the same thing.

Cate made her way out of the elevator and down the corridor to Emma's room, greeting the nurses she had become close with over the last few months. Baze was at work, and Cate had reluctantly headed home to shower and change after spending the night with Emma.

"Hi, Amy." Amy was one of the younger nurses; one who was often more lenient in terms of rules when it came to Emma. "How's she doing?"

Amy smiled, shuffling the clipboards for her other patients. "A little better. She always cheers up with visitors."

Cate frowned. As far as she knew, nobody was visiting today. Abby and Laverne sometimes swung by after work, but not without calling her first, and Baze's parents Ellen and John visited on Wednesday's afternoons; Alice, Ryan, Jamie and Math dropped by on occasion, but only when she or Baze were there too; besides them, there was no one Cate could think of who would be there.

When Amy noticed her reaction, she clarified. "The young girl from the other day. She and Em have been talking for hours."

Cate frowned confused as she slowly made her way towards Emma's room. Cate paled when she looked in and saw Emma laying in bed, a blonde girl in the chair next to her with her back to the door. Cate didn't need to see her face to know who she was.

Both Emma and Lux looked up as the door opened, Lux's expression changing to match Cate's while Emma smiled tiredly. She was exhausted and she wasn't feeling well, and although she wouldn't admit it to Lux, she wanted her mom.

"Hi, mommy." Emma spoke softly, smiling tiredly.

"Hi, baby." Cate's vision didn't shift from Lux as mother and daughter stared at each other, no one knowing what to do or say. Eventually Cate broke from her trance and forced a smile for Emma's sake, walking over to the bed and placing a hand on Emma's shoulder as she kissed her head. "How are you feeling?"

Emma shrugged and Cate frowned, her concern deepening when Emma linked their fingers.

Emma smiled, looking over at Lux who was still staring at Cate. "Mom, this is my friend-"

"Lux." Cate finished earning a confused look from Emma and a surprised one from Lux.

"I, uh, I should be going." Lux stumbled backwards, forcing a small smile at Emma.

Emma looked between Cate and Lux, confused. "Lux! Wait!" Lux turned back reluctantly, hesitating by the door. "You're going to come back right?"

Lux forced a sad smile in response, not sure of her answer, before leaving the room quickly.

Cate watched her leave, torn between staying with one daughter or following the other.

"How do you know each other?" Emma asked confused, answering Cate's silent question. She was beginning to get agitated like she usually did when she was tired, and the sudden confusion wasn't helping.

Cate stood up and forced a smile, tucking the blankets around Emma tightly. "You should get some sleep."

Emma shook her head, fighting both her own tiredness and her mother. "No, I want to know." She basically begged.

Cate ignored her pleading and bent over, placing a kiss to Emma's head. "Just go to sleep, babe. We'll talk when you wake up."

"Promise?" Emma mumbled, her eyes drooping as she began to lose her battle against sleep.

Cate sighed, gently stroking Emma's hand. "I promise."


	6. Be Here Now

**A/N: So for a bone marrow harvest, donors can either be put under local or general anesthesia, but for the story to work the way I want it to, Lux had to be put under general so that she was asleep. Anyhow, a little technical thing I thought I'd mentioned just in case people were going to correct me.**

**Chapter 6- Be Here Now**

Cate was basically strangling Baze's hand as they watched Emma sleep, loose tears occasionally making their way down Cate's cheeks.

Baze looked solemn; he always did when he watched his daughter without her knowledge over the last six months. The cancer was progressing rapidly, and the fact that they didn't catch it until it was stage 4 only made the chances of recovery even slimmer.

Emma began to stir and Cate quickly swiped away her tears, both parents pasting on smiles. "Mom?"

"Hey, sweetie. How are you feeling?" Cate smiled, gently running a hand up and down Emma's thin arm slowly.

"Okay." Emma smiled tiredly, noticing Baze. "Hi daddy."

"Hey kiddo." Baze smiled.

Emma frowned slightly when she looked over at the bedside table, noticing the time. "What are you doing here?"

"Mom and I thought we should have a talk, so I took the afternoon off."

Emma nodded slowly, still slightly confused. "Is this about Lux?"

Cate and Baze exchanged a quick glance before looking back at Emma, Cate slowly nodding. "How do you know Lux?"

"She came by on Tuesday. I don't really know her." Emma shrugged casually, sitting up with the help of Baze. "She said I looked bored." Emma smiled at this, and Cate and Baze smiled involuntarily with her. "Why?"

"Emma..." Cate started, looking to Baze for help when she didn't know how to continue.

Baze thought for a second before shifting to sit on Emma's bed, one hand on her leg affectionately. "You remember when you asked us how we met?" Emma nodded. "And we told you that we met in high school?" Again, a nod. "Well we did meet in high school, Em, but when we first got together, we made a mistake."

Emma nodded slowly, signaling for him to continue as she looked between her parents, both confused and nervous.

"Your mom got pregnant when we were sixteen. We were really young, and we weren't able to look after a baby, so we gave her up for adoption when she was born."

Emma looked shocked but still confused, and she paused to take in the information before responding. "What does this have to do with Lux?" In the back of her mind, she knew, she just needed clarification.

"You remember when Dr. Samuels told us you needed a bone marrow transplant and that a relative was the best possibility? Well neither mom or I were a match, and Grandma and Gramps, and Gran and Aunt Abby weren't either. Dr. Samuels told us that the best chance of finding a match would be through a sibling, so we went looking for the baby we gave away, because we would do anything to get you better, okay?"

"I know." Emma nodded and smiled reassuringly when she noticed how much her parents were struggling.

"We found her. The baby." Baze stopped, not knowing what to say next.

Cate squeezed Emma's hand gently, forcing a smile through her tears. "Em, Lux is that baby. Lux is your sister."

Emma opened her mouth to respond, her brow crumbling in confusion, but closed it again when she couldn't find the words, repeating the process. Subconsciously she pulled her hand away from Cate, turning to look away from her parents.

"Emma..." Cate whispered, reaching out to grasp Emma's hand only to have her pull away again. "Sweetie, please talk to us. Tell us what you're thinking."

Emma thought for a few minutes before replying, confusion written all over her face as she looked at her parents. "I have a sister?" She asked slowly, earning nods from both Cate and Baze. "_Lux_ is my sister?"

"Biologically, yeah..." Baze smiled lopsidedly, rubbing his hair nervously.

Again Emma scrunched up her face as she tried to process the news. "Does she know who I am?" She finally asked.

Cate nodded. "We told her, yes."

"Did she want to meet me?"

"Baby, she came to see you by herself. We didn't force her-"

Emma interrupted her quickly. "But when you first told her, did she want to meet me?"

"No." Cate answered honestly after a few minutes.

Emma froze, although she couldn't say she was surprised. "Oh."

"Em, she came to see you, honey. She obviously wanted to meet you." Baze assured, hating to see his daughter looking so upset.

Emma nodded slowly to herself, thinking. "She came back." She whispered to herself.

Despite her common sense, Lux hung around the hospital after her run in with Cate. She hid out in the cafeteria for a while, before making her way to the appointment she had scheduled with Dr. Samuels for the afternoon.

"Okay, Lux, we're going to do a urinalysis and a few blood tests, then get a quick ECG and chest X-ray to make sure you're okay to donate today. But first, I need to ask you a few questions."

Lux nodded nervously, signaling for him to continue.

"Do you have any allergies?" Lux shook her head no. "Any medical conditions? Are you on any medication?" Again Lux shook her head.

"Are you up to date with all of your immunizations?" Lux nodded slowly. At least, she was pretty sure that she was.

"Do you, or have you ever had, any type of medical problems?"

Lux paused, looking up. "Like what?"

"Diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, asthma, heart disease, that sort of thing."

Lux sat up a little straighter, almost embarrassed. "I had a heart thing when I was a baby. Ventricular Septal Defect. I had to have a bunch of surgeries, but I'm fine now."

"Okay..." Dr. Samuels filled in the information on the form as he thought. "We'll do an ECG to make sure, but there shouldn't be any reason why you can't still donate." He nodded reassuringly before continuing. "Do you have any family members who have ever had any of the following conditions: alcoholism, cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, depression/suicide, bleeding or clotting disorder, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy or any genetic disorders?"

Lux looked at her nails to control her emotions, shrugging bitterly. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Dr. Samuels questioned.

Lux rolled her eyes angrily. She wasn't angry at Dr. Samuels; she just hated people asking about her family and not knowing what to say in response. "Why don't you ask them?"

"Do you have a contact number I can reach them on? It's very important we get a reliable medical history, especially for donors."

"Emma has cancer." Lux said soberly, starring at the ground. "I don't know about Cate or Baze."

Dr. Samuels looked confused before putting everything together. "You're the other daughter..."

"Is that what they're calling me now?" Lux replied sarcastically.

Dr. Samuels frowned uncomfortably. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Yeah, well, they don't know I'm donating either so if you could keep this between us, that'd be great." Her tone was still bitter, but she softened a little.

Dr. Samuels nodded, smiling warmly. "Of course." He stood up and lead Lux to the door. "We've already got Emma's family history so we can get started with the physical."

Sure, Lux was nervous, but she managed to hold herself together until they were in the operating room.

"Alright, Lux, I want you to lie down flat on your stomach with your arms by your side."

Lux hesitated nervously by the table, only moving when the nurse pushed her closer. Slowly Lux climbed on to the table and did as the nurse said, blushing slightly when the hospital gown she was wearing opened a little.

No one seemed to care though as they continued to prepare. Dr. Samuels came over to stand beside her, smiling. "Okay, Lux. I'm going to put you to sleep now."

Lux felt as though there was something on her chest stopping her from breathing as the doctor came closer, oxygen mask in hand. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly as she gripped at the soft table, her knuckles turning white.

Lux basically jumped off of the table when Dr. Samuels tried to put the mask on her, her breathing quick. Dr. Samuels and the nurse in the room turned to look at her, concerned and confused. "Are you alright, Lux?"

Lux nodded quickly, more to herself than the others. "Yeah... I, uh, hospitals kind of freak me out."

Dr. Samuels smiled reassuringly, nodding for the nurse to come over. "It will be over soon."

Lux nodded, trying to convince herself as she slowly laid back. "Try to relax, honey." The nurse smiled at her, offering Lux her hand. Lux gripped it back desperately, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to calm herself.

Dr. Samuels positioned the mask over Lux's face, holding it in place gently so that she didn't push it away. "Lux, I want you to count back from one hundred for me now."

Lux made it to ninety-eight before she was fast asleep. The harvest only took half an hour, even with the amount of bone marrow being collected.

Both Emma and Cate fell asleep shortly after they had finished talking, both emotionally exhausted. Baze watched them for a while, but his mind never left Lux.

Baze stood up and placed a kiss to both of his girls' foreheads before quietly leaving the room, running his hand through his hair tiredly as he made his way to Dr. Samuels' office.

Baze spotted Dr. Samuels in the hallway before he could reach his office, and the older doctor smiled at Baze expectantly. "Shirley mentioned you might have a donor?" Baze started, referring to one of Emma's other nurses.

Dr. Samuels nodded, relieved. "It's not a perfect match, but it is close enough for Emma's transplant."

Baze let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, but the tension between the two men were there. Both knew deep down what the other was thinking, but they also knew neither would admit it. "Is it Lux?" Baze finally asked.

Dr. Samuels' expression gave it away, but legally he couldn't say anything. "You know I can't give out that kind of information, Baze..." He frowned apologetically.

"She's my daughter, Brian." Baze ran his hand through his hair, a mixture of emotions rushing through his body. "I just want to know if she's okay."

Dr. Samuels sighed, hesitating before responding. "We just moved her into recovering. She can go home when she wakes up."

Baze nodded and patted Dr. Samuels arm thankfully before rushing past him and heading to the recovery room on the ward.

He spotted her immediately, fast asleep in a bed in the far corner. She looked different now, almost more vulnerable. Baze pulled up a chair next to the bed and took a seat, hunching over and running his hands over his face tiredly as he watched his daughter sleep.


	7. Tonight And The Rest Of My Life

**A/N: Sorry it's taken so long! I temporarily lost my muse but she's back in the form of the latest season 2 trailer! Three words: Oh My God. Ohmygod! Ahhhhh! I'm so unbelievably excited! :D**

**Also, I'm going to suggest songs to listen to while you read each chapter because I'm usually listening to the same few over and over depending on the story. So, for this chapter I strongly suggest "It Is What It Is" by Lifehouse and "Serendipity" by Greg Holden. Plus the title is my favorite song ever! "Angels Flying Too Close To The Ground" by Willie Nelson :)**

**Listen to it! You know you want to! ;) And the titles of each chapter are song names... Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 7- Tonight And The Rest Of My Life**

Baze looked up when Lux began to stir, leaning forward and smiling slightly as she slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. "Hey."

Lux's mouth was dry and she struggled for a few seconds to get rid of her grogginess before replying. "It's over?" She whispered.

"Yeah." Baze nodded, smiling. "You did great."

Lux nodded to herself as she took in the situation, not knowing how to act. After a few minutes, Lux sat up slowly, groaning at the dull pain in her hip. She looked down and noticed there was a small bandage over the area, hesitating before she threw the blankets off of herself and swung her legs over the opposite side to Baze.

"Woah, what are you doing?" He stood up cautiously and met her on the other side, his hands hovering due to Lux's drowsiness.

"Leaving." Lux answered simply, disconnecting the heart monitor on her finger before she grabbed her clothes. "I hate hospitals."

"The doctor hasn't cleared you to go." Baze said lamely, not sure what else to do.

Lux ignored him, biting her lip against the pain as she slowly tried to bend down to put on her sweat pants. Baze watched her fail twice before moving closer and taking the pants from Lux's hands. He looked at her for silent permission before bending down in front of her and holding the pants open. Lux blushed slightly at the fact that she needed help, but placed her hands gently on Baze's shoulders for balance and stepped in, allowing Baze to pull the pants up to her knees before she took over the rest.

They looked at each other awkwardly for a few moments before Lux turned away and grabbed her top off of the bed. "Thanks." She mumbled.

Baze turned around to give her some privacy as she changed her top, slightly surprised when Lux spoke. "You can turn back now."

Lux sat down slowly on the edge of the bed when Baze turned, clearly still groggy from the drugs. "What are you doing here?" Lux's voice was quiet, but the mixture of confusion, vulnerability and anger was clear on her face.

Baze nodded to the seat beside Lux, asking for permission to sit. Lux shrugged and shifted over slightly, watching as he sat down beside her. "I wanted to see how you were doing." Baze thought carefully before speaking, making sure to word it correctly. "I thought I could drop you home."

Lux thought for a moment before responding. She wasn't sure; she didn't want to accept anything from Baze, but on the other hand, it would save her cab fare. "Thanks."

Baze beamed as Lux accepted, standing up. "I'll go grab a doctor to check you out then we can get going."

Lux nodded and watched as Baze left the room. She seriously debated escaping or hiding before he came back, but for some reason- one which Lux put down to the drugs- she remained seated.

Lux could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her hands shaking; she was more nervous about spending time with Baze than she was about the hospital. Lux couldn't describe it; she hated him, she hated him so much, but there was a level of fear deep down that he would reject her again. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle that again. She had worked too hard at suppressing that pain to let it get to her again.

"Glad to see you're awake, Lux." Dr. Samuels smiled as he and Baze came back into the room. Baze hovered anxiously as Dr. Samuels moved to stand in front of Lux and proceeded to check her over. "How are you feeling?"

Lux shrugged. "Okay."

"Any pain? Discomfort?" Dr. Samuels asked as he took her pulse.

"My hip's kind of sore." Her tone was deliberately casual and she brushed it off as if it was nothing.

Dr. Samuels frowned sympathetically. "I'll give you some morphine for the pain but you shouldn't need to take it for more than two or three days." He pulled his prescription pad from his lab coat and proceeded to write. "2 pills every four hours when required." He handed the script to Lux who nodded in response. "You're all clear to go."

Lux eagerly stood up, forgetting about her hip which only made her cringe when she did. Baze reacted on instinct as he gently grabbed her arms to steady her, surprised when Lux visibly flinched at the contact.

Lux acted as if nothing happened and forced a tight smile at Baze before turning back to Dr. Samuels as he spoke. "Do you have someone to take you home?"

"I'm taking her." Baze answered before Lux could, looking down at her but not surprised when she avoided eye contact.

"Great." Dr. Samuels smiled as a nurse came over to join them with a wheelchair.

"I can walk-"

Baze smirked, shaking his head. "Sorry, kid, hospital policy."

Lux was too tired to protest so she simply collapsed in the wheelchair, defeated and annoyed. Baze handed Lux her bag before taking the brakes off of the chair and slowly pushing it towards the door.

"Uh, Dr. Samuels?" Lux's voice caused both Dr. Samuels and Baze to stop and look at her. Lux looked down at her hands, wringing them nervously. "The bone marrow... was it okay?"

Dr. Samuels nodded and squatted down next to Lux. "It's perfect. We're setting Emma up for the transplant in two days."

Lux smiled to herself and nodded, taking in the information. Dr. Samuels said goodbye and left them alone, but Baze waited a few moments before pushing Lux down the hallway.

"You don't have to drive me." Lux broke the silence, her tone slightly bitter. "I can get a cab. You should be with your family."

Baze stopped pushing the wheelchair and bend down in front of Lux, waiting until she made eye contact. "Lux, I want you to understand something, okay?" Lux waited nervously for him to continue, bracing herself for the emotional pain she suspected was coming. "I know that Cate and I were never there for you, and it kills me to know that you were alone. But we're here for you now, and if you'll let us, we want to be in your life. We want you in ours."

Lux felt herself shaking as she tried to keep herself from crying. She nodded slowly after a few moments of silence, and watched as Baze smiled relieved. He placed a gentle hand on her knee before standing up and continuing to push her.

"Do you mind if we drop by Emma's room before we leave?"

"Sure." Lux nodded hesitantly, feeling herself growing more and more nervous as they approached Emma's room.

Both Cate and Emma looked up as Baze pushed Lux into the room. Cate instinctively stood up at the sight of her daughter in a wheelchair, fear overcoming her. She stopped herself from moving however as Baze pushed Lux beside the bed and moved around to the other side to place his hands on Cate's shoulders comfortingly.

"You're in a wheelchair." Emma broke the silence, both sisters simply watching each other hesitantly and forgetting about their parents.

Lux shrugged, smiling half-heartedly. "Hospital policy."

"You donated." Emma whispered in realization, more to herself than to Lux.

Lux looked up at Cate and Baze, making eye contact with her mother as she nodded. It was almost like an invisible blanket of tension was lifted, and Cate's eyes filled with relieved tears as she broke into a grateful smile, opening and closing her mouth as she tried to find words.

"You didn't have to do that." Emma looked grateful, but at the same time there was a level of pity in her tone.

Lux shrugged casually, turning her attention back to her sister. "I know. But it's not like I was using it."

Emma smiled tiredly, leaning back against the pillows though her attention didn't stray from Lux.

"We're sisters." Emma's eyes searched Lux's for any hint of emotion as she stated the fact.

Lux, however, remained void of emotion. "I know." She answered after a few moments. "Biologically."

"Are you going to come live with us now?" Emma's face lit up slightly at the idea as the others froze at the question, all getting ready to protest. "You can have the spare room next to my room so we can hang out when I come home too. And I can help you decorate it. Mom and dad let me do mine however I wanted so I'm sure they'll let you too. And maybe you can change schools so we could go to school together?-"

Baze cut Emma off before she could continue her ramble. "Em, Lux already has a life..."

Lux pushed aside her hurt and forced a smile for Emma's sake. Of course they weren't going to want her to live with them. She was a donor, a _product_, nothing more. "Yeah..." She nudged Emma gently, hoping to cheer her up. "Plus you know I'm not the biggest fan of school."

"But that's not fair!" Emma was clearly exhausted, and that plus the new information was bound to be frustrating. "You're my big sister. They kept you from me; I didn't even know you existed until today, and now you're just going to leave again?" She turned towards her parents, letting out a frustrated cry. "Why can't she come live with us?"

Cate didn't know what to say, so she simply went about trying to calm down Emma, while Baze starred at Lux and the teenager avoided eye contact, struggling to keep her emotions at bay.

"The offer still stands, Lux." Baze's voice managed to silence both Emma and Cate, and Lux slowly looked up, feeling an unbelievable amount of vulnerability. "We want you."

Lux couldn't hide the vulnerability in her tone as she responded, avoiding looking at anyone. "Why now?"

Cate and Baze exchanged a glance, neither knowing what to say. "Honestly?" Cate asked and Lux nodded. "Because every day since we gave you up, we've thought about you. And now that we've found you, we want to get to know you."

Lux had so many thoughts rushing through her head she couldn't reply. Instead she just starred off into space and tried to rack her brain around everything. No matter how Cate worded that sentence, Lux couldn't help but think of a sarcastic or bitter way to reply.

She knew Cate and Baze only wanted her for Emma. If she was living with them, then it would be easier to donate. Logically, Lux understood this. I mean, it made no sense why they would want her for any other reason; not now, years after they gave her away by their own choice. But a little part of Lux couldn't help but hope Cate was telling the truth.

"You've got to talk to my social worker." Lux finally answered before she could stop herself.

Emma smiled widely and she slowly reached forward to wrap Lux in a hug before the blonde could protest. Lux was caught off guard and flinched at the contact but eventually relaxed a little and wrapped her arms back around Emma loosely.

Cate was waiting by her side to engulf Lux in a hug the second Emma released her, but Lux made no movement to hug her back. She wasn't going to let her guard down that fast with the one person who had hurt her the most.

"It's going to be great, okay?" Cate murmured into Lux's hair and somehow Lux found herself nodding in response.

Lux pulled away from Cate faster than she had for Emma, and looked between Emma and Baze, noticing they both had the same identical smile.

"Well we should probably go grab your things and talk to your social worker before it's too late." Baze suggested, leaning down to kiss Emma's head lovingly. "I'll see you later, beautiful." He moved to quickly kiss Cate goodbye but was surprised when she wrapped her arms around his shoulders tightly.

"Thank you." Cate whispered into Baze's shoulder, gripping him tightly.

Baze hugged her back gently before pulling back and kissing her swiftly. "We'll talk later." He smiled, referring to Lux and Cate nodded in response.

Baze waited until Lux had finished saying goodbye to Emma before he pushed her out of the room and down the hall.

"You should go too." Emma suggested the second they had left, smiling reassuringly as she watched Cate stare at the door.

Cate shook her head and forced a smile, both knowing she desperately wanted to. "You just don't want me here so I won't force you to eat your beans."

Emma scrunched up her face in disgust instinctively before responding. "Well they are disgusting, but that's beside the point." She nodded to the door, smiling. "Go. It's okay. I'm tired anyway so I'll probably just crash."

Cate would normally have been more hesitant but Emma's demeanour reassured her. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

Emma nodded and smiled. "Go. I'll be fine."

Cate gave in and quickly hugged her daughter goodbye before rushing out of the room and towards the car park.

Baze was in the process of unlocking his car when Cate caught up to them. "Emma?" He asked, concerned.

Cate nodded and smiled. "She's okay."

Lux was tired and drugged up on morphine. At least, that's what she told herself was an excuse as she reluctantly let Cate help her out of the wheelchair and into the backseat of the car. Baze took the wheelchair back inside the hospital as Cate climbed into the front seat. She looked back at Lux and smiled, but Lux ignored her and starred out the window, trying to figure out if she'd just made the worst decision of her life.


	8. For Tonight You're Only Here To Know

**The crossover this week! We're already on episode 5! It's going to fast! Therefore, we need the back 9 episodes which takes me to my next point- Promote!**

**Please please please promote as much as you can! We need all the viewers we can get coz ratings are down :(**

**Seriously, watch it live, watch it on the CW website (the CW website still counts as ratings), get all of your friends and family to watch it. Even your enemies! And tweet! Like constantly. There's a watch LUX campaign going around- google it! Please join and promote as much as you can! Get the CW to realize how truly amazing this show is and that it deserves a full season more than any other show on the channel!**

**So this chapter takes place the following day simply because it's been so long since I updated that I forgot the timeline! So I'm working on the basis that Lux spent the night at the foster home then they went to talk to Fern the next day. Don't forget, promote like crazy! :)**

**Chapter 8- For Tonight You're Only Here To Know**

Fern was pissed, to say the least. She stared at the three people sitting across the desk from her in shock, watching as Cate and Baze shrunk in their chairs, nervous and ashamed, while Lux seemed to be lost in her own world.

"Do you have any idea of the legal implications your actions could have caused?" Fern almost shouted, finding her voice. "Breaking and entering, government records, it could even go as far as stalking."

Fern sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look, I understand why you did it, but it's my job to protect the rights of the children under the state's care. I'm sorry but I have no choice but to report you."

Both Cate and Baze had the same reaction, their mouths open as they looked back and forth between each other, Fern and Lux. "Look, you really can't do that. They'll never let us keep Lux if they find out."

"Keep Lux?" Fern looked confused between Cate and Baze, before watching Lux for her reaction.

"Yeah..." Baze looked over at Lux and smiled. Lux simply sat there. "We want to take Lux in. We want her to live with us."

Fern looked surprised at first, before she looked at Lux and smiled. "Lux, why don't you go wait out in the hall for a minute while I talk to Cate and Baze?"

Lux shrugged and made her way out of the room, taking a seat outside of the door and putting in her iPod.

The three of them emerged ten minutes later, and Lux stood up slowly to greet them. "Lux?" Fern smiled although Lux's gaze remained on her parents. "Why don't you come in?"

Cate looked like she had been crying but both she and Baze smiled reassuringly and nodded for her to go ahead.

Lux took a seat across from Fern, looking at her fingernails as she pretended to not be interested. "Look, my stuff is still at the Foster's so I'll just go back there." She shrugged half-heartedly, figuring Fern was going to send her back to foster care.

"Lux, Marianne Foster asked me to come pick up your belongings this afternoon."

Lux rolled her eyes as she pretended not to care, but folded her arms across her chest protectively as she set her jaw, her eyes becoming misty. No matter how many times she had been rejected, it didn't hurt any less. "So where am I meant to go then? Back to Sunnyvale?"

"I'm looking into some options." Fern sighed, leaning forward on her desk. "Lux, I want you to tell me honestly, okay? If the state approved Cate and Baze as foster parents, how would you feel about living with them?"

Lux looked up surprised. She hadn't been expecting _that_. "Is that really a possibility?" There was no way she was going to allow herself to be hurt again.

Fern nodded, smiling slightly. "I'm willing to recommend they be awarded joint temporary custody if you're okay with that."

"Since when do I get a say?"

Fern smiled slightly as Lux characteristically used her sarcasm to deflect the question. "Lux."

"What did they say to you anyway?" Lux raised an eyebrow, disbelieving. What had happened to no choice but to report them?

Fern sighed, careful about how to approach the question. "They told me that they wanted you, and they gave me sufficient reason to believe that living with them is what would be best for you. They told the truth."

Lux scoffed. "And you believed them?"

"Don't you?"

Lux was taken off guard by the question; she honestly didn't know what to believe. After a few minutes of thinking, Lux finally whispered. "I want to live with Cate and Baze."

Cate and Baze stood quickly when Lux and Fern emerged, expectantly.

"Everything will be written and made formally tomorrow, but you've met the qualifications as foster parents and will be granted temporary joint custody of Lux."

Cate and Baze both grinned, and Lux herself couldn't help but smile. "Thank you so much."

Lux smiled at Fern, speaking softly. "Thanks, Fern."

"You're welcome." Fern smiled back before turning to Cate and Baze.

After they had finalized some of the paperwork and collected Lux's gear, they headed to the car, an awkward silence overcoming them.

Lux stopped them when they reached the car, turning to face them. "Look, I'll make you a deal, okay?" Cate and Baze exchanged a glance, nodding for Lux to continue. "The second Emma's better, you sigh my emancipation forms." They both opened their mouths to protest but Lux stopped them, continuing. "We're both only doing this for her. You may say you want me, but don't kid yourselves. You don't want another kid. You wouldn't have even looked for me if it wasn't for her." Lux broke eye contact, looking down slightly. "So you help me and I'll help you, okay?"

Cate and Baze turned to look at each other, both wanting to protest. Baze jumped in and nodded before Cate could, knowing what Lux both wanted and needed. "Okay."

The drive home was just as awkward as the walk to the car park, and Lux couldn't help but think even foster care might be better than the unbearable uncomfortableness.

Baze grabbed her bag from the trunk before Lux had a chance and lead the way to the door, Lux looking around both curiously and bitterly as Cate gently placed a hand on her back and guided her inside.

"So this is it." Cate smiled nervously at Lux, stepping back to stand next to Baze as they both watched her.

Lux nodded, looking around awkwardly. "It's big." She finally commented.

Cate and Baze both laughed, relieving some of the tension as Baze lead the way up the stairs. "Come on. I'll give you a tour."

After a quick tour of the house, Cate and Baze finally showed Lux to the guest room; _her_ room.

"It's pretty basic." Cate explained nervously as Lux looked around the room in awe. It was basic, but it was more than Lux ever had with a double bed, built-in wardrobe, desk and TV included. "When Em gets released in a couple of days, I thought we could all go shopping. Buy some things to personalize it up. But, I mean, we don't have to if you don't want to. It's up to you."

Lux nodded and turned to face them, smiling sincerely. "It's amazing. Thank you."

Cate and Baze smiled back at her, holding her gaze. Eventually they left her alone and gave her a chance to unpack and settle in.

"Hey."

Lux looked up as Cate entered the room, standing awkwardly. "Hey."

Cate smiled slightly, gesturing over her shoulder. "I was going to head down to the hospital. Do you want to come? Because Baze went to drop something at work..."

Lux raised an eyebrow, trying to read Cate. Either Cate didn't trust Lux in her house alone, or she was just way too overprotective.

Nonetheless, Lux shrugged and nodded. "Sure." She felt awkward being in their house anyway, and she figured she could just sneak off and go for a walk or something while Cate was with Emma.

Cate smiled, clearly relieved. "Great. Well when you're ready..."

Lux grabbed her bag and threw it over her head, shrugging awkwardly. "Let's go."

The drive to the hospital was filled with awkward small talk, both of them doing their best to ease the tension.

"Mommy..." Emma sobbed, reaching out as Cate and Lux entered Emma's hospital room.

Emma was curled up on her side, gripping her blanket as a nurse rubbed her back comfortingly.

"I'm here, honey." Cate gently kissed Emma's head to reassure her before she looked up at the nurse. "Hi, Shannon."

Shannon smiled before going back to checking Emma's IV. "Almost finished, Em. I'll be back in fifteen minutes to check on you, okay?"

"Why didn't you call me?" Cate asked gently, rubbing Emma's back as the preteen dry gagged.

Emma shivered, leaning against Cate. "You were with Lux."

Cate made a mental note to ask her what she meant by that later, looking up to meet Lux's gaze.

Emma sobbed as her body once again contracted against her will, and she gripped tightly to the edges of the wash basin. Cate looked on, her heart breaking as she rubbed Emma's back soothingly, trying to do everything she could to ease her daughter's pain.

"Lux?" Cate looked over and noticed Lux was hanging nervously in the corner, watching but not knowing what to do. When Lux didn't look up, Cate called her again. "Lux!"

Lux made eye contact, her eyes wide. Cate noticed how scared she was and forced a small, reassuring smile. "Can you go get Dr. Samuels?"

Lux nodded and left a second later, returning quickly with Dr. Samuels on her heel. Dr. Samuels made his way over to the bed and began to check Emma over; to Lux, it was surprising how calm everyone seemed to be.

"Hi, Em. Not doing too well today, huh?" Dr. Samuels smiled reassuringly as he checked her over. "I'm going to get you something to help with the nausea, okay?"

Emma nodded slowly and curled up on her side, the basin by her head. Cate rubbed her arm gently and whispered reassuring words, comforting her.

Lux watched them, and she couldn't help but feel jealous. Where was Cate when she had been lying in a hospital bed, sick and scared and wanting her mom? It only made her more angry that Cate and Baze chose Emma over herself.

Lux quietly crept out of the room, bitterly thinking that she didn't want to break up mother and daughter.

She wandered around for a while before making her way to the cafeteria, surprised when she saw Baze sitting at a table by himself. For some reason, Lux didn't feel as much anger towards Baze as she did towards Cate.

"Avoiding the fam?"

Lux asked sarcastically causing Baze to look up and smile slightly when he realized who it was.

"Hey..." He smiled and pulled out the chair next to him. "Take a seat."

Lux obliged, leaning back in the chair as they watched each other. "You okay?" Lux broke the silence after a few minutes, surprising both of them.

Baze nodded and smiled tiredly. "Yeah..." He sighed but they both knew that wasn't true. "How about you? Are you doing okay?"

Lux rolled her eyes joking, shrugging casually. "Why wouldn't I be?" She asked, her tone slightly sarcastic.

Baze smirked. "Let's see; your biological parents tracked you down and asked you to donate bone marrow to your sick sister. Now somehow they convinced your social worker to let you live with these strangers. That's enough to blow anyone's mind, let alone a kid." His tone was light but Lux knew he was serious.

"I'm sixteen." Lux completely blew off the rest of the question.

"I know." Baze smirked. "I helped create you."

Lux scrunched her face up in disgust, closing her eyes. "Okay, not an image I wanted."

"Yeah, well, we were sixteen." Baze smiled, watching Lux's reactions. Lux was more like himself than he originally realized, and he'd be lying if he said that didn't make him just a little happy.

"Is that why you gave me up?" Lux asked nervously, avoiding eye contact.

Baze sighed, trying to figure out what to say. "Basically, yes." He finally offered lamely, pausing before continuing. "Can I ask why you're in foster care?"

"You can ask, but that doesn't mean I'll give you an answer." Lux replied sarcastically before shrugging half-heartedly and looking away as if it didn't matter. "No, I don't know. I was born with this heart thing. A hole. I had to have a bunch of surgeries. Baby on an operating table, not exactly a selling point to perspective parents. By the time it was fixed, I was almost three, and most people, they want a baby so I ended up in the system."

Baze didn't know what to say. "Lux..."

Lux shrugged it off, forcing a smile as she changed the subject. "So what are you doing down here anyway?"

Baze knew he wasn't going to get anymore out of her, so he followed her lead, shrugging. "The food may suck but it's the best place in here to think."

"Couldn't agree more."

Lux looked up and met Baze's smiling, both smiling as they watched each other. Eventually Baze stood up, placing a hand on Lux's head and tilting it gently and affectionately. "Come on." He smiled. "Are you ready to go back?"

Lux nodded and smiled, standing up and slowly walking by her dad's side towards Emma's room.

When they got there, Emma was perched up in bed, talking to Cate who sat in the chair beside her.

"Hi, daddy." Emma smiled. "Hi, Lux."

Lux waved lamely as she remained standing, Baze going over to the bed to greet Emma. "Hey, kiddo. How are you feeling?"

"Better." Emma smiled tiredly, looking between her parents. "Dr. Samuel wants to talk to you."

Baze nodded as Cate stood, gently tucking the covers around Emma tighter. "Is it okay if we go home and get something to eat quickly?"

Emma nodded, smiling reassuringly. "I'm pretty tired anyway." She looked up at Lux and smiled. "Lux, it's Tuesday! It's Chinese night."

Lux smirked slightly, keeping her attention on Emma as Cate and Baze both smiled at her. "My favorite."

"We're going to go talk to Dr. Samuels quickly, okay babe?" Baze bent over and kissed Emma's head loving. "I'll be back later tonight, okay?"

Emma nodded and smiled, saying goodbye to both of her parents as Lux stood back and watched.

"Lux, do you want to stay here for a few minutes and we'll come get you when we're done?"

Lux looked over at Cate and nodded, smiling slightly as she took the seat beside Emma's bed, both daughters watching as their parents left the room.

"Hey..."

Emma smiled tiredly at Lux, speaking quietly to keep from waking Cate. Lux looked up surprised before smiling slightly. "Hey."

"Sorry about earlier." Emma blushed slightly. "Dr. Samuels said sometimes the pre-transplant chemo is worse than the usual stuff. I'm usually not that gross."

"It's fine." Lux shrugged, smiling slightly. "Gave me a chance to talk to daddy dearest."

Emma smiled, both at the comment and Lux's attitude. "What'd you talk about?"

"You." Lux smirked, sticking out her tongue jokingly.

"Hey!" Emma laughed gently. "Totally not fair when I'm not there to defend myself."

Lux smirked, shrugging jokingly. "Maybe next time you should get your lazy butt out of bed."

"Hey!" Emma faked hurt, throwing one of her soft, gift-shop toys at Lux. "Well I will be at the end of the week. Dr. Samuels said if the transplant goes well tomorrow, I can go home on Friday."

Lux smiled sincerely, nodding. "That's really great, Emma."

"Uh huh." Emma smiled happily. "Mom and I were just planning our shopping trip."

Lux laughed slightly, standing up. "And with that comment, I'm out of here." She joked. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

Emma smiled and nodded, watching as Lux made her way to the door. "Bye, Lux."

Lux closed Emma's door behind her, coming face-to-face with Cate and Baze, the parents obviously finished talking to the doctor.

"Hey." Baze smiled, placing a hand on Cate's shoulder as he looked between Cate and Lux. "You ready to go home?"

Cate and Baze both turned to Lux for an answer, and Lux nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah... Let's go home."


	9. Little Tornado

**A/N: Dedicated to XtremeLUXfan because I'm so unbelievably glad for the "Overcoming The Past" update! And to the rest of my readers, you guys are so amazing!**

**Chapter 9- Little Tornado**

Friday came too quickly for Lux's liking. It had been slightly less awkward between her and Cate, and her and Baze had quickly fallen into a comfortable relationship.

Lux still felt like a stranger though, and she still felt weird living in Cate and Baze's house. The last few days she had managed to avoid their offers of driving her to school; she either left earlier than them or convinced them she had a free period first lesson so she was going to walk. In reality though, she didn't want her parents seeing where she went to school, and she didn't want to risk her friends seeing her parents. She knew they were complete opposites and it was just easier to avoid any possible confrontation.

Today, however, Lux had accidently left late and Cate had insisted on driving her. She saw the shock on Cate's face as they pulled up outside of Longfellow, and it didn't go unnoticed by the both of them when a bunch of heads turned to look at the Prius, eying the car.

Lux grabbed her bag from the back seat and forced a smile, opening her door. "Bye."

"Wait, Lux!" Lux sighed and turned around. She was expecting this kind of reaction, but it didn't mean she wanted to deal with it. "You go here?"

"That's why we're out front." Lux replied sarcastically, but sighed when she noticed Cate's expression. "Look, it's not as bad as it looks. Most of the kids here are either foster kids or juvie kids. We're the same, and as long as we mind our own business, we're fine. Just... don't worry about it, okay?"

Cate still looked hesitant so Lux pasted on a small smile and waved goodbye. "Well... Thanks for the ride."

Cate watched as Lux met up with another girl and walked inside the building, careful to avoid a small fight that was breaking out. Her maternal instinct told her to get out of the car and drag Lux out of the building, but she reluctantly drove away after a few minutes, a different plan in mind.

"Oh, Mrs. Merman!" Cate called out as she approached the Administration Counselor of Westmonte High School.

Mrs. Merman stopped walking and turned around at her name, and smiled when she recognized Cate. "Mrs. Cassidy. How are you?"

"Good, thanks." Cate was quickly stopped from continuing as Mrs. Merman interrupted her.

"And Emmaline?"

Cate smiled sincerely, nodding both to herself and Mrs. Merman. "She's doing well."

"Good, that's good." Mrs. Merman smiled. "So what can I help you with?"

"I'm actually here to enroll a new student to start Monday. My daughter." Mrs. Merman looked confused so Cate continued. Our older daughter. It's a long story, but I've organized for her school to send over her transfer records."

Mrs. Merman smiled, leading the way back into the school. "Well let's go then."

Cate was waiting outside Longfellow when school let out, and Lux noticed her instantly, saying goodbye to her friend before slowly walking over to Cate's car and climbing into the passenger seat.

"You should really learn to lock your doors if you're going to make a habit of showing up here you know." Lux advised, half joking and half serious as she put on her seat belt.

Cate looked shocked and Lux couldn't help but smirk slightly at the expression. "What are you doing here anyway? I told you I'd get a ride."

Cate brushed her shock aside and smiled, switching her attention between Lux and the road. "I thought we could go get Emma together." Lux nodded slowly, sensing Cate had something more to say. "And I wanted to talk to you."

"Okay?..."

"Well, you know that Emma goes to Westmonte, right? And it's my alma mater. Baze's too." Lux raised an eyebrow, looking at Cate confused. "Well I talked to the administration officer and we organized it so that you can start there on Monday."

Lux stared at Cate in shock, trying to figure out what she was saying. "You're serious?"

Cate nodded and smiled. "Uh huh. I already got Longfellow to transfer your records."

"Are you kidding me?"

Cate looked both shocked and confused at the reaction as they pulled into the car park of the hospital.

"Did you even think to ask me first?" Lux didn't know what she was more angry at; the fact that she was apparently transferring to a new school, or the fact that Cate felt she could make decisions about her life without even asking her. "How could you just transfer me to Westmonte?"

"How? Well, like I said. It's my alma mater. I have connections. Plus Emma goes there and we live in the district."

Lux rolled her eyes, her anger remaining. "You didn't even think to ask me how I felt? Did it ever even occur to you that I don't want to change schools? I have friends at Longfellow-"

"Look, Lux, I know it's scary changing schools and making new friends, but I can promise you, I was just looking out for your best interests."

"My best interests? You've known me barely two weeks and suddenly you know my best interests?" Lux tone held a layer of pain under her anger, and Cate didn't know how to respond. "I don't want to change schools. I don't want to go to Westmonte."

"Lux..."

"Look, just transfer me back, okay?" Lux sighed, getting out of the car. "There's no point in me changing schools."

"No point?" Cate got out after her and ran a few steps to walk beside her. "What do you mean no point?"

Lux stopped, turning to face Cate before lowering her voice and looking around, slightly embarrassed. "How exactly am I meant to pay for a school like Westmonte when I get emancipated? I want to finish school. It doesn't matter what they say, a GED does nothing. There's no point in transferring me to a school when I'm just going to move back in a few weeks."

Cate stood speechless for a few seconds while Lux sighed and walked away. Neither spoke to each other until the three of them, Emma included, arrived home and Emma left them alone to go have a shower.

Cate didn't speak until she heard the shower running upstairs, sighing and looking up at Lux to make eye contact. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't speak to you first. It wasn't my decision to make."

"Your right. It wasn't." Lux grabbed her bag and swung it over her shoulder, opening to front door. "I'm going out."

"Out?" Cate stepped forward. "Out where? Baze is on his way home with dinner. What about Emma? It's her first night home."

Lux's emotions were unreadable, but her bitter tone didn't go unnoticed. "You guys can have a _family _dinner to celebrate."

Lux didn't say another word, and Cate didn't know how to stop her from leaving. By the time Lux arrived at Bug and Gavin's apartment, she was both angry and hurting, and it didn't go unnoticed by her friends.

"Whoa, what happened to you?"

Lux rolled her eyes, pushing past Tasha and collapsing on the mattress beside Bug. "Cate happened."

Tasha smirked, making her way back over to sit up against Gavin as Lux properly greeted her boyfriend before taking a swig of his beer. "I take it's not going well with _mommy_?" Tasha asked sarcastically.

"If by 'well' you mean the fact that she transferred me to Westmonte without asking first? Then no, it's not."

All three looked both shocked and angry at the revelation, but Lux ignored their looks, instead choosing to focus her attention on whatever alcohol was in her reach.

"Are you kidding me?" Tasha asked.

Lux nodded, downing a shot. "Exactly my reaction."

"They can't do that." Bug spoke up, slightly concerned as he watched Lux steal his beer from him.

"Apparently they can." Lux scoffed bitterly. "They were just acting in my best interests."

Lux took another swig of her beer before sighing and continuing, interrupting Tasha before she could respond. "Look, let's just forget about them, okay? I don't want to think about them tonight. Any of them." All three nodded slowly, changing the subject.

"They're going to kill you." Tasha smirked as she basically carried Lux to Cate and Baze's front door.

Lux remained completely serious, stopping at the door and plastering a dramatic kiss on Tasha's cheek. "Was nice knowing you then, friend."

Tasha laughed, ringing the doorbell for Cate and Baze before rushing off and leaving Lux on the doorstep.

Cate threw open the door a second later, and Lux squealed excitedly, stumbling forward to wrap her arms around Cate's shoulders, almost knocking her mom over. "Hey, Catie!"

"Whoa..." Cate pulled Lux away from herself, struggling to balance her as she held her at arm's length. "Lux?"

Lux giggled sheepishly, stumbling into the lounge room where Baze was sitting and sorting through paper work. He looked up and smiled, relieved to see she was happier. From what Cate had told him earlier, Lux wasn't exactly the happiest person when she had stormed out, not that he could really blame her. "Welcome back."

Lux stumbled over to Baze and collapsed on the couch next to him, watching what he was doing as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Baze amusement turned to disappointment when he fully took her in.

"Are you drunk?" Baze asked in disbelief causing Cate's head to shoot up.

Lux couldn't suppress her drunken grin and she giggled, squinting her eyes as she held up a measurement with her finger and thumb. "Just a teensy bit."

"Unbelievable." Baze muttered to himself, turning away to control his anger.

Cate, however, didn't hold back. "Are you kidding me right now?"

Lux looked slightly surprised at the outburst but quickly put up a front, ready for any confrontation. "Just had a couple of drinks." She slurred before chuckling and shrugging casually. " Lighten up, Catie! What's the big deal?"

Despite his anger and disappointment, Baze barely managed to stifle his amusement as he watched the interaction between mother and daughter.

Cate didn't know how to react. Emma would never do anything like this, even if she wasn't sick. Cate had absolutely no idea how to handle a teenager, let alone a rebellious one.

"What's the big deal?" Cate repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Lux laughed drunkenly to herself, not paying much attention as she shrugged casually. "Just having a little fun."

"Lux, do you have any idea what alcohol does to your system?" Lux rolled her eyes, fully expecting Cate to go into a lecture about underage drinking. She didn't know whether to be surprised, jealous, upset or angry when Cate continued. "What if Emma needed another transplant? Alcohol could kill her, Lux! Did you even think about her for a second!"

"It's my life!" Lux yelled angrily. "I can do what I want!"

"Not when your actions could impact Emma!" Cate yelled back.

Baze watched as Lux's expression changed, and he couldn't help but shift closer to stand beside her, silently offering comfort and support. Even he had to admit what Cate was saying was unfair.

Lux waited a few minutes before replying, not sure what to say. "I'm sorry, okay?" She shrugged, but Baze could tell that if it wasn't for the alcohol in her system, she would have tried harder to sound sincere.

"No." Cate shook her head, sighing before walking away. "It's not okay."

Lux groaned after Cate had left, collapsing face first on the couch. Baze couldn't help but smirk slightly and he bent down beside Lux, wrapping one of her arms around his shoulder as he pulled her up. "Come on. Let's get you to bed."

Lux groaned again but allowed Baze to basically carry her up the stairs and into her room. He set her down on the edge of the bed before proceeding to take off her shoes, Lux watching him curiously. "Is Cate really mad at me?" She slurred.

"She's just worried." Baze smiled reassuringly, lifting her top up over her head before helping her throw on a new oversized one to sleep in. "She'll get over it."

"Hmm..." Lux pouted as she thought, sighing dramatically.

Baze couldn't help but laugh, and he lifted the covers of the bed for Lux to climb under. Lux collapsed in the bed and buried her head in the pillow, closing her eyes the second her head dropped. Baze watched her for a few minutes, smiling when she hugged her pillow tightly. He bent over and gently kissed her forehead, brushing the hair away from her face before walking over to the door.

"I matter too."

Lux's mumble was barely audible and Baze couldn't be sure she had said it consciously, but it broke his heart, and he silently vowed to both himself and Lux that he would make sure she knew that.


	10. I Might Be Crying

**A/N: I'm so sorry this has taken me so long to update! I just started finals so obviously life is hectic at the moment! Plus, add in the fact that the latest news about LUX not getting the back 9 episodes has been in a deep depression... But I do promise to concentrate more on my fanfics than on my finals! After all, Life Unexpected is way more important :)**

**Chapter 10- I Might Be Crying**

Lux groaned as she rolled over in bed, slowly waking up to a splitting headache, overwhelming nausea and Emma sitting on the bed beside her.

"Ow..." Lux brought her hand to her head, squinting her eyes shut as Emma stood up and opened the curtains. "What the hell?"

"Time to get up." Emma sang as she plopped back down on the bed, grinning.

Lux groaned, burying her head under her pillow as Emma laughed and held out a glass of water and two aspirin. "Here. Mom said this would help."

Lux reluctantly pulled her head out from under her pillow and swallowed down the pills and water before collapsing.

Emma laughed, watching her. "You're more dramatic than I am."

"And you're too cheerful for..." She looked over at the clock, rolling her eyes and groaning. "9am on a Saturday morning."

Emma rolled her eyes, smirking slightly. "You can't waste the day sleeping."

"Are you sure you're 12 years old?" Lux asked legitimately; she had never met a pre-teen like Emma before.

Again Emma rolled her eyes and smirked as she pulled Lux's covers off, ignoring her comment. "Get up!"

"Good morning." Cate smirked slightly as Lux emerged in the kitchen a few minutes later, watching as the teenager glared at her quickly before going back to feeling sorry for herself.

Lux grumbled a good morning before collapsing in a chair and laying her head on the kitchen table. She sat up a few minutes later when Cate placed a coffee and a plain bagel in front of her, scrunching her face up in disgust at the food. "Thanks, but I'm not hungry."

"It'll help soak up the alcohol." Cate replied as if it wasn't unusual to have a hung-over sixteen year old.

Lux reluctantly nibbled on the bagel as Cate and Emma talked, feeling slightly awkward as she watched them. She barely managed to finish half of it before she stood up and carried her plate over to the sink. "I'm going back to bed."

"Actually, you should probably go shower and get dressed. We want to leave soon." Cate shook her head, smirking slightly when Lux stared back confused. "You're coming shopping with us."

"Are you kidding me?" Lux looked between the two of them, both annoyed and disbelieving. "I'm hung over."

"And I've got cancer." Emma shrugged as if it was the most natural thing in the world, catching both Cate and Lux off guard. "It's not stopping me."

"Seeing as you're so reluctant to come with us anyway," Cate started, looking at Lux seriously. "I'm making it your punishment for last night. Go get dressed."

"You can't punish me." Lux stared back at Cate, testing her.

Cate raised an eyebrow, asking Lux if she was serious. "You're my kid and you're living in my house, you'll do what I say."

"I'll go back to foster care then." Lux's defensive instincts instantly kicked in. "I didn't even want to come here in the first place."

"No." Cate started firmly, shaking her head and pointing to the stairs. "You'll go get dressed and meet us back down here in half an hour."

Lux opened her mouth to protest but Emma's expression caught her eye, and she reluctantly stopped herself, pouting and grudgingly making her way to her room.

Despite her reluctance and better judgment, Lux somehow found herself sitting in the back of Cate's car forty five minutes later, nursing her headache as she watched Emma and Cate bond.

"Can you cut it out with the music already?" Lux grumbled, referring to Emma's Glee soundtrack that had been playing since they left the house. "I've got a headache."

Emma turned down the music only slightly, turning from the front seat to smirk at Lux. "Maybe if you hadn't been drinking then you wouldn't feel like you do now."

Lux bit her lip, mumbling her response so that Emma and Cate couldn't hear it. "Well maybe if your mom wasn't such a bitch I wouldn't have started drinking to begin with."

By two hours into their shopping trip, Lux was fairly certain she was going to throw herself off a building any second.

She sat in the "husband chair" in a boutique at the mall, waiting as Cate and Emma tried on different outfits. After about half an hour of prodding her, they'd just given up and let her pout.

"You could try to look interested." Lux pulled her head off of the back of the seat, pulling out her iPod and opening her eyes to see Cate sitting beside her.

Lux rolled her eyes, replying sarcastically. "I thought parents were supposed to teach their kids not to lie."

Cate sighed, controlling her frustration as she tried to think of something to say that wouldn't completely piss Lux off. "Look, I know you're mad at me, and we can deal with that later, but don't take it out on Emma."

"Ready to go?"

Emma spoke up nervously, interrupting Cate and Lux before Lux could respond. The more time she spent with Cate and Emma, the more she was growing to resent them both. Emma had everything Lux had ever wanted and she didn't even realize it, and Cate had a habit of making it known that she both loved and liked Emma more as a daughter. Honestly, Lux couldn't blame her.

"Yeah..." Lux sighed as she slowly stood up, pasting on a fake smile. "Where to next?"

Another hour later and Emma had "helped" Lux pick out everything she needed for her new room. In reality, Lux had felt uncomfortable and Emma had excitedly taken over, choosing a bed cover, desk, personal touches and a new school wardrobe for both Lux and herself.

"What about this one?" Emma helped up a baby doll dress in front of herself, waiting for Lux to respond.

Lux shrugged for what seemed like the eightieth time, slightly amused that despite the two of them having completely different taste, Emma still made sure to grasp Lux's opinion on each outfit she chose. "It's... cute I guess?"

Emma sighed dramatically at the response but held onto the dress nonetheless, searching through the rack once again. She stopped suddenly and Lux looked up just in time to see Emma's limbs go limp and her body start to fall.

"Whoa, hey, you okay?" Lux asked cautiously, jumping into action and grabbing Emma's arms to steady her.

Emma nodded slowly, allowing Lux to help her into a chair. "Just tired."

"Do you want me to get Cate?"

Again Emma nodded, and Lux glanced around quickly before forcing a small smile. "I'll be back in a minute."

Lux found Cate at the cashier and rushed over to her. "Emma collapsed."

"What?" Cate looked around frantically. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

Lux lead the way back over to where Emma was sitting, instantly taking in the fact that the younger girl was more embarrassed than anything. A store attendant and a few shoppers had noticed the commotion and of course had jumped right in to help the cancer kid.

"Em..." Cate knelt down in front of Emma, placing her hands on Emma's knees. "How are you feeling, baby?"

Emma bit her lip and looked around, both embarrassed and slightly ashamed. "Can we go home?"

"Yeah, of course we can." Cate slowly helped Emma stand and Lux stepped in beside her, forcing a small, reassuring smile as she took her arm to keep her balanced.

Cate shot a polite smile at the people watching them as they left, slowly making their way to the car park.

It didn't go unnoticed by any of them that people would turn and look at them, looks of pity being shot at Emma. Emma was used to it; when she first started chemo and began to lose her hair, she had flat-out refused to be seen in public. Now wasn't much better.

Lux headed to her room when they got home, Cate preoccupied with Emma. She had called Baze home from work and the two had spent the afternoon doting over Emma and trying to convince her to go back to the hospital, even if it was just to get checked out.

"Can I come in?" Cate asked, knocking gently on Lux's door.

Lux shrugged and nodded slightly, despite her hesitance. "Sure."

Cate walked over and took a seat on the bed, cautious to give Lux space. "I wanted to talk to you." She paused when she got no response. "About last night. We didn't really get a chance to talk earlier."

Lux acted as if she hadn't heard her. "How's Emma?"

"Asleep." Cate smiled half-heartedly. "I think she may have pushed herself a little much today."

"I don't get it." Lux frowned slightly as she thought, confused. "You yell at me for getting drunk and risking Emma's health despite the two not being connected," Cate's cringed at the bitterness in Lux's voice. "But she literally just got out of hospital and you allow her to spend the entire day shopping. If you're so worried about her getting sicker, why don't you just lock her in the house?"

Cate sighed, thinking before she answered. "Because that's not going to help her. When she was first diagnosed, Baze and I, we had no idea how to act. We wanted to pull her out of school and keep her locked up in the hospital until she was better. But Emma didn't want that, and it was then that we realized the best way to help her, was to act as normally for her as we could."

"Can I ask you something?" Lux asked hesitantly, avoiding eye contact.

Cate nodded and smiled quickly. "Anything."

Lux hesitated before continuing. She was nervous, despite the fact that deep down she knew the answer. "If Emma wasn't sick, or if you or Baze had been a match, would you still have tried to find me?"

Cate paled and stared at Lux. "No."

The second the word left her mouth, Cate felt sick. She watched as Lux's expression changed through pain and disbelief before switching to anger as she attempted to brush the comment off.

"I'm going out for a while." Lux finally said, climbing off of the bed and quickly grabbing her things. She turned back at the door, her voice thick with bitterness. "Oh, and don't worry. I won't do anything to risk your daughter's health."

By midnight, Cate and Baze were officially freaking out. They had no idea where Lux was, nor did they know who to call to ask. After some frantic, panicked searching, Cate had gone digging through Lux's possession despite Baze's protests and managed to find an address, praying that Lux would be there.

She pulled up outside the building a few minutes later, looking nervously at the state of it. It wasn't exactly in the best neighborhood but Cate had failed to mention that to Baze, knowing he would never let her go alone if he knew.

She climbed the stairs of the building, looking at the numbers on the apartment doors until she found the one she was looking for and knocked hesitantly.

The door swung open a few seconds later and Cate instantly spotted Lux over the shoulder of the girl who had answered the door.

"Cate?" Cate didn't know whether Lux was angry or embarrassed. "What are you doing here?"

"It's after midnight. Do you have any idea how worried we were?" Cate stalked into the apartment, walking over to Lux and ignoring Tasha.

Lux frowned slightly, not sure what to say. She was just relieved that Bug and Gavin had managed to find a job handing out flyers for a local bar that night. "Uh, I'm sorry. I lost track of time."

"Get your stuff." Cate started to pack up Lux's bag, stopping when Lux yanked her stuff out of Cate's grip. "We're going."

Cate reached over and grabbed Lux's arm without thinking, Lux instantly pulling away. "Don't touch me!" Cate was taken slightly off guard and pulled away immediately, waiting for Lux to react. "Stop telling me what to do."

Without a word, Lux grabbed her bag and left the apartment leaving Cate and Tasha in her path. Cate looked at Tasha embarrassed, while Tasha glared back before breaking the silence after a few moments.

"Can I give you some advice?" It was a rhetorical question, but Cate nodded anyway. "Lux has spent her entire life wanting a mom. But you, you could care less about having her as your kid-" Cate instantly went to protest but Tasha stopped her, continuing. "She doesn't blame you. You have your own life, and your own family. A new kid to replace her. She knows you're only back in her life because it could save your other kid, and she's not angry. Beats me how, but she's not."

Tasha shook her head, glaring slightly at Cate. Cate had managed to hurt Lux more in the last couple of weeks than she had been hurt during a lifetime of foster care, and the fact that Cate didn't realize it only made Tasha madder. "But she is hurting. She won't ever admit it, but watching what she could have had? It's killing her. Just don't push her, and stop rubbing the fact that the only reason you're back in her life is because she could potentially help the daughter that you actually wanted."

Cate barely made it out of the apartment before her eyes filled with tears, and she crossed her arms across her torso, trying to calm herself. The last thing she wanted was for Lux to feel unwanted, but she had no idea how to act around the daughter she had regretted giving up for the last sixteen years of her life.


	11. As Much As You Lead

**Chapter 11- As Much As You Lead**

"Lux!" Cate called up the stairs for the third time that morning. "Come on! We're going to be late!"

Lux reluctantly trudged down the stairs, not even sure why she was listening. It was Monday, and concurrently Lux's first day of school, and Emma's first day back.

"You look great!" Cate gushed, smiling widely. It didn't go unnoticed to Lux that Cate had deliberately been overly nice to her since their fight on Saturday, and in response Lux had been trying to return the attitude, even if she knew it was only a facade.

Baze and Emma emerged from the kitchen a second later, Emma handing her a travel coffee thermos.

"Morning kiddo. You all ready for your first day of school?" Baze nudged Lux gently causing her to smile involuntarily.

The drive to Westmonte was short, but Lux could have sworn it felt like a lifetime. When Baze pulled into the car park, Lux looked around and took in the other kids. She wasn't usually a nervous person, but for some reason, she was currently more nervous than ever.

"Have a good day." Cate and Baze both turned in their seats to look at Emma, Emma leaning forward to kiss her parents goodbye. "And you know to call us if you don't feel well, or if you're too tired-"

Emma rolled her eyes but humored her mom nonetheless. "I know, mom. I'll be fine. I'll see you at 3:30. Love you!"

All three watched as Emma climbed out of the car and was immediately spotted and ultimately bombarded by her friends.

Lux was more reluctant to get out, but eventually opened the door and stood up without a word, slightly shocked and embarrassed when Cate and Baze did too. "Whoa, what are you doing?"

"Walking you in. It's your first day."

Lux looked around embarrassed before speaking quietly. "Are you kidding me? No way."

"What?" Cate frowned confused but Baze couldn't help but smirk. "Why not?"

Lux raised an eyebrow, her tone sarcastic. "Do you want me to be a loser?"

Baze laughed and Cate looked between them, both confused and slightly worried. "Are you going to be okay to figure out where you're going?"

Lux nodded gratefully when Baze caught her drift, and she smiled slightly, accepting her bag as Baze handed it to her. "Thanks."

"If you need anything, you've got my cell, or Baze's. And you know, you'll probably see Emma around. She can help with classes and teachers and-"

"I got it, Cate." Lux smirked slightly. "It's not my first time starting a new school."

Cate nodded and smiled nervously. "I'll be here to pick you guys up at 3:30, okay?"

Lux nodded and shot one final quick smile at her parents before slowly heading into the school.

So maybe not accepting Cate and Baze's help wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever done. Lux wandered around the school aimlessly after the bell rang and the hallways cleared out, no idea where she was going.

"You look lost."

Lux turned to where the voice came from, forcing an awkward, slightly embarrassed smile. "Yeah, uh, I'm looking for the guidance office."

"Ah..." The boy smiled, closing the distance between them and pointing over Lux's shoulder. "You just passed it."

"Thanks."

Lux turned to leave but stopped when the boy held out his hand, smiling. "I don't think we've met. I'm Jones."

"Lux." Lux smiled slightly, shaking his hand.

"You're new." He stated and Lux couldn't help but smirk, raising an eyebrow.

"Is it that obvious?" She asked sarcastically.

Jones smirked, slowly beginning to walk towards the guidance office, Lux following beside him. "Come on. We can get your schedule and I'll help you find out where you're meant to be."

Lux looked slightly surprised but nodded and smiled sincerely. "Thanks." Maybe Westmonte wouldn't be as bad as she thought.

Jones helped Lux find her locker and showed her to her first class after they had picked up her schedule, and Lux remembered why she hated school so much as she made her way to her first class, awkwardly knocking on the door as she teacher lectured.

"Hi." Lux forced a small smile, taking a step into the classroom. "I think I'm meant to be here."

"You think?" The teacher questioned, but he acted more like he was trying to crack a joke.

Lux nodded, handing her schedule to the teacher. He read it over and nodded, before stopping at looking up at Lux surprised. "Lux Cassidy? You're Baze and Cate's kid?"

Lux shrugged awkwardly, her tone sarcastic. "That's what they tell me..."

Lux watched him confused. She had never seen him before but for some reason, he apparently knew her parents and recognized her name.

"Alright." The teacher smiled, signaling to the only spare seat in the front. "Why don't you have a seat? I'm Mr. Rogers. We're working on Great Expectations at the moment. Have you read it?" Lux shook her head, slightly embarrassed. "Alright, well, you can borrow my copy for today and just listen."

Lux nodded hesitantly, taking the book for Mr. Rogers before taking a seat. The fifty minute lesson seemed to take more like two hours and Lux was struggling to stay awake by the end of it. She groaned quietly, rolling her eyes as the teacher called her right before she called walk out of the class.

"Uh, Lux, could you stay behind for a minute?"

Lux reluctantly made her way back to her seat, awkwardly watching as the rest of the class cleared out. She hated being the new kid.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced." Mr. Rogers held out his hand, Lux raising an eyebrow confused. "I'm Math. Well, Mr. Rogers at school, but I'm a friend of your parents."

"Great." Lux mumbled to herself, shaking his hand. "I'm sure that'll help me make lots of friends."

"What was that?" Math questioned, smiling.

Lux shook her head, forcing a smile. "Don't worry."

Math took a seat at his desk, looking over Lux's transcripts that had been delivered to him halfway through the lesson. "I see you went to Longfellow? And before that Gresham-Barlow and Centennial?"

Lux didn't bother to respond, knowing Math was talking to himself as he read over her records. "I'd like for you to take a placement test, just to make sure you're up to speed." Math smiled reassuringly. "And if you can, it'd be great for you to have Great Expectations read by the end of the week. We'll be doing an in-class essay on it next week."

Lux nodded, but she didn't have any real intention to do what he asked. The second her new teachers saw what previous schools she had attended, Lux knew they were going to treat her like an invalid.

"Is that all?"

Lux didn't wait for Math's reply before leaving the classroom, glad to find out second lesson had already started. She walked outside to the payphone she'd seen earlier and dialed a number, smirking when the other person picked up.

The second Cate saw the caller ID for the high school, she freaked out. Automatically her mind went to Emma, running through every possible scenario surrounding her daughter. Never in a million years would she have expected to be sitting in the principal's office, Lux by her side as Principal Dugan informed her of her oldest daughter's actions.

"...The librarian caught them hiding out the back of the school drinking alcohol and smoking."

Lux rolled her eyes, mumbling. "Yeah, because she came out to do the same thing."

Cate looked at her shocked before turning her attention back to Principal Dugan. "I'm sorry, them?"

"Lux was with three teenagers who don't attend Westmonte. I had security escort them off of school grounds."

Cate didn't know how to react; she flipped her attention between Lux and Principal Dugan in shock. "I don't understand. Why weren't you in class?"

"Hey, I went to the first one then realized there was no point in me being there, so I left." Lux shrugged casually, a small, smug smile on her face.

"No point?" Cate starred at Lux in shock. "Are you kidding me?"

Lux rolled her eyes and Principal Dugan spoke up before Cate could continue. "Maybe you can discuss this at home?"

Cate sighed, stressed. "Yes, of course. So what happens now? With Lux, I mean."

"Drugs and alcohol on school grounds is grounds for automatic suspension. However, seeing as it is only Lux's first day, we've decided to let her off with a warning. She'll go home for the rest of the day and serve after school detention for the rest of the week, but she will not be suspended."

Cate breathed a sigh of relief, looking at Lux quickly before turning her attention back to Principal Dugan. "Thank you. I promise, nothing like this will ever happen again."

"I understand that change can be hard, Lux, and it's not unusual for siblings to act out when a brother or sister is ill, but this behavior is unacceptable here at Westmonte. If it occurs again, I'll have no choice but to ask you to leave the school."

Cate nodded and forced a polite smile, standing up and dragging Lux up with her. "Thank you, Principal Dugan."

Cate dragged Lux out of the Principal's office and out of the school, managing to make it out to the car park before Lux broke the silence.

"Baze couldn't pick me up instead?" Lux asked annoyed, slowly trudging after Cate.

Cate unlocked the car, not even bothering to hide her anger. "He had work, and it's not like we thought you were going to get sent home on your first day, Lux!"

"Well, sorry." Lux sang quietly. "It's not like anyone forced you to move me to Westmonte in the first place. This wouldn't have happened at my old school."

Cate sighed. "When are you going to realize that we're just doing what is best for you."

"Because giving me up, that was the best thing for me?" Lux couldn't hold back any longer; she couldn't bare to have Cate lie to her anymore and pretend that she cared.

Cate was taken aback by the sudden outburst and her eyes filled with tears as she replied. "At the time I really thought that it was. I thought that I was doing the right thing for you."

"It wasn't for me! If it was for me, you would have checked!" Lux angrily swiped at a loose tear that had slipped down her cheek, starring out the window to keep from fully breaking down.

"Lux..." Cate whispered, her heart breaking.

"Pull over. I'll walk home."

Cate was about to protest but stopped herself when she noticed Lux's face, and slowly pulled over to the side of the road.

Lux got out and closed the door behind her, folding her arms across her chest as she walked down the grass of the park Cate had pulled up beside and took a seat at the bench. Cate watched her and debated what to do before getting out and slowly following her.

Cate took a seat on the bench beside her, relieved when Lux didn't pull away, as they starred ahead at the water in front of them.

"You're right." Cate started after a few minutes, whispering. "When I gave you up, I did it for myself. But you have to believe me, Lux, if I had known... I never would have put you up for adoption if I had known what your life would be like. I really did think you were going to be adopted."

Lux didn't reply for a few moments, not sure what to say. Ever since she had met Cate, she had wanted her to own up to her actions. And now that she had, Lux didn't know what to do.

"You had no reason not to." She finally whispered. "You didn't know I was sick."

"But I should have." Lux turned to Cate at the confession, not sure how to feel when she saw tears running down Cate's face. "I should have checked-"

"I don't blame you." Lux interrupted. "You know, for not checking. At least at first. But when you and Baze had Emma... I don't get why four years made such a difference. Why you wanted her but you didn't want me." Lux's voice broke on the last sentence and Cate had to do all she could to keep from breaking down.

"Lux..." Cate whispered, her voice trembling. "Can I tell you something? When I found out I was pregnant with Emma, I didn't want her either. It reminded me too much of you, and I knew I couldn't go through that pain again. It almost killed me the first time... I actually went to the clinic everyday for two weeks. You know, being pregnant again, it scared the hell out of me. I think worse than when I was pregnant with you, because I couldn't bare to go through that pain again, but I knew I wasn't ready to be a mom either."

Cate wrung her hands a few times, Lux watching her. "When Baze found out, he insisted we keep the baby. I think he was still angry about giving you up, and he thought this baby would make up for it or something. I didn't protest, you know, he asked me to marry him and promised we'd be a family. His parents even bought us a house. But when Emma was born, I just couldn't handle it. I couldn't even look at her. So I pushed her away, just like I pushed you away. I moved back home with my mom, and for the first six months of her life, I think I saw her twice."

"The doctors eventually diagnosed me with post-partum depression and put me on medication. Everyone pushed me to move back in with Baze, but I found it _so_ hard to connect with Emma. You know, here she was, this perfect little baby, _my_ baby, but I couldn't stop thinking that she was here, but you weren't."

Cate looked up at Lux, meeting her gaze. Lux didn't even seem to care that she had tears running down her cheeks. "I didn't want you, Lux. But not a day has gone by that I haven't loved you."

Lux nodded, more to herself than Cate as she tried to wrap her mind around what Cate was saying.

"I don't forgive you." Lux eventually whispered. "I don't know when I'll ever be able to forgive you."

Cate nodded, tears in her eyes. "Lux, you never have to forgive me. I'm never going to be able to forgive me. I just want a chance to make it right with you. Can you let me do that?"

Lux met Cate's gaze and nodded, loose tears slipping out when Cate leaned over and wrapped her arms around her, rubbing her back soothingly as she held her.


	12. Swing Gently

**Chapter 12- Swing Gently**

Cate knocked gently on Lux's door, pushing it open and poking her head in. "You almost ready to go? I have to drop Emma at the hospital before I drop you at school."

Lux looked up from packing up her school things, genuinely concerned. "Is she okay?"

Cate looked over at Lux and smiled sincerely at the teenager's worry, nodding. "Yeah, she's fine. She has another round of chemo."

"Oh." Lux paused awkwardly, not knowing what to say or do as she avoided Cate's gaze. "Does she- I mean- Well, does she want me to come? Because I can. You know, if she wants."

Cate couldn't help but smile at Lux's nervousness, nodding. "I'm sure she'd love that." Cate smirked, catching Lux's small smile. "You know, if you're sure you don't mind missing a day of school?"

Lux smirked in response, not needing to offer an answer as she lead Cate out of the room and down the stairs to where Emma was waiting.

Emma hated chemo. Obviously, no one liked it, but it was usually bareable in terms of the physical effects. The boredom, however, got old. There was only so many times you could read over the same magazines and have the same awkward, forced conversations with your mom and/or dad before it drove you crazy.

So Emma would be lying if she didn't say she was excited that Lux was coming with her today. Emma would never admit it, but despite the hidden jealousy and anger she felt towards Lux, Emma loved the concept of having a sister.

Even Lux had quickly slipped into the sister role, only when Cate and Baze weren't around of course.

Emma sat on the bed, writing something in her notebook while one arm was hooked up to an IV, Cate and Lux sitting opposite her in single chairs. The room didn't offer any privacy, though neither Emma nor the other patients seemed to care; they were all there for the same thing.

"Mom?"

Cate looked up from the magazine she was reading, smiling slightly. "Hmm?"

"What year did the Cold War start?"

Cate frowned, thinking before replying while Lux looked up and raised an eyebrow. "1945 I think."

Emma nodded and began to write, both she and Cate going back to their own things while Lux looked on confused. "Are you doing home work?"

Both Cate and Emma looked up, Emma nodding slowly confused. "Yeah..."

Lux just smirked, answering sarcastically. It was times like these she realized how different she and Emma truly were. "You realize you're in the hospital right? I'm sure your teachers will understand."

Emma shrugged slightly. "I like to be ahead." She spoke quieter than usual and Lux felt slightly bad for mocking her.

Dr. Samuels interrupted them before anyone else could answer, and all three looked up at him expectantly. "Morning Emma, Cate, Lux. How are you feeling this morning, Emma?"

Emma shrugged, smiling half-heartedly. "Tired. Kind of nauseous."

"No pain?" Dr. Samuels checked over Emma's stats quickly.

Again Emma shrugged, slightly embarrassed and ashamed as Cate's eyes bore into her. "A little."

"Number?"

"Six, maybe. It's not too bad."

Dr. Samuels nodded before standing back up. "I'll see what we can do about that, okay?" Emma nodded and Dr. Samuels smiled before turning to Cate. "Cate, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you in my office quickly."

Cate looked surprised and slightly nervous, standing up and glancing at Emma. "You going to be okay, babe?" Emma nodded and both she and Cate pasted on smiles, trying to reassure the other. "I'll be back soon."

Cate kissed Emma's head quickly before brushing a hand down Lux's back and walking off after Dr. Samuels out of the room.

Lux went to say something but a voice sounded before she could, and she and Emma exchanged a glance.

"Can we get chocolate milk after?"

Both Lux and Emma looked up curiously as a voice perked up through the curtain separating them. They exchanged a glance before simultaneously and subtly tilting back to look behind the curtain.

Both girls pulled back when they were spotted, and the curtain was inevitably pulled back a few seconds later.

Emma blushed, acting first as she held out her hand sheepishly, the teenage boy and what appeared to be his little brother watching them curiously. "Hi, I'm Emma."

"Pete." The older boy shook her hand slowly, watching them curiously before nodding to the younger boy sitting in the bed. "This is my brother, Cooper."

"Are you here for chemo too?" Cooper asked, almost excitedly. Everyone knew, however, he was excited about having something in common with Emma rather than the actual chemotherapy itself.

Emma nodded, smiling kindly at the little boy as she tried to avoid the gaze of Pete, slightly embarrassed.

"Me too! I have non-hotchkin lymphoma." Cooper stumbled over his diagnosis slightly.

"Hodgkin, bud." Pete smiled amused, although his attention remained mainly on Emma. "What are you in for?"

Emma blushed at the attention causing Lux to smirk amused as she watched the interaction between the two, not even caring that no one had acknowledged her. "AML."

Pete raised his eyebrows surprised, nodding. "A rarity."

Emma blushed furiously, trying to shrug casually which only caused Lux and Pete to smirk more, Pete finally noticing Lux was there as he held out his hand. "Hey, I'm Pete."

"Lux."

Pete nodded and smiled, before turning his attention back to Emma. "So what do you do when you're not hanging out here?"

Emma shrugged, blushing. "School mostly."

"Where do you go?" Lux watched Emma surprised; the usually confident girl was surprisingly amusing when speaking to boys.

"Ah... Westmonte. It's in Nob Hill."

Pete nodded. "Yeah, I know it. They kicked our butts last season."

"What do you play?"

Pete shrugged. "Football, but I'm taking the season off to hang out here with Coop."

"Mommy and daddy said I have to live here while I'm sick but sometimes Pete stays with me!" Coop exclaimed, smiling tiredly. It was clear he wasn't feeling too well, and that didn't go unnoticed by the other three. It also didn't go unnoticed by Emma that Pete's expression hardened at the mention of their parents.

"Where are your parents?" Emma asked quietly when Lux and Cooper were distracted in a conversation.

Pete looked defensive at first but shrugged after a few moments. "Divorced and at work. They're not exactly the world's most attentive parents. They care more about making money, and making each other miserable, than they do about Coop or I."

Emma frowned apologetically. "I'm sorry."

Pete scoffed slightly, signaling that it was okay. "What about you?" He asked, changing the subject. "Where are your parents?"

"Mom's talking with Dr. Samuels and daddy's at work."

Pete smirked mockingly. "Daddy's girl, huh?"

Emma blushed furiously, not sure how to answer. Lux laughed, both at Emma's reaction and Pete's spot-on assessment. "Definitely."

"What about you, Lux? Are you more like your mom or your dad?"

The question caught both Lux and Emma off guard, both stuck for what to say. Cooper involuntarily chose that moment to throw up; the little boy starting to cry a few seconds after.

A nurse came over to help as Pete turned his full attention to his brother, Lux and Emma watching. After a few minutes and a few words with the nurse, Cooper was moved to a wheelchair and transported out of the room, but Pete remained for a few moments.

"Maybe we can hang out sometime?"

Emma blushed as Pete kept his attention on her alone. "Yeah..."

When Emma made no other movement, Lux smirked, handing Pete a piece of paper with Emma's number on it. "She's free Friday."

Pete nodded, tapping the piece of paper in his hand as he smiled at Emma. "See you around, Emma."

Emma couldn't find any words and Pete smirked, saying goodbye to Lux before leaving.

"Cute." Lux acknowledged approvingly, raising an eyebrow at Emma.

Emma blushed furiously which only caused Lux to smirk in amusement.

Cate hated being called into Dr. Samuels' office. She likened it to being called to the Principal's office when she was in school. Then again, that had never actually happened so she liked it to what she imagined the Principal's office was like.

"Cate, I've just been over the results from Emma's last blood tests." Dr. Samuels started. "Would you like to call your husband down here?"

Cate shook her head, wanting to know as soon as possible. "No, just tell me."

Dr. Samuels smiled, nodding. "Well it's good news." He watched as Cate visibly relaxed. "Emma's taken to the graph well, and the transplant combined with the chemotherapy and radiotherapy has been enough to put her into remission."

"Are you serious?" Cate's eyes filled with tears and she found herself whispering, unable to believe it.

Dr. Samuels nodded, smiling. "Now of course you know there's always a risk she will relapse, especially within the first few months of remission, but for the time being, she's getting better, Cate."

Cate shakily covered her mouth, at a loss for words. Finally she stood up along with Dr. Samuels, hugging him quickly. "Thank you."

Cate came back when Emma was almost finished, not surprised to see her youngest daughter throwing up into a bucket. What did catch her by surprise however, was Lux sitting beside Emma, rubbing her back soothingly.

"How are you doing, baby?"

Cate took a seat beside Emma, allowing her daughter to lean into her heavily. It didn't go unnoticed to Cate that Lux shifted away almost instantly, not making eye contact when Cate tried to look at her.

Cate kissed Emma's head lovingly, whispering. "This is the last time you're going to have to do this, honey. You're in remission."

Emma pulled away from Cate and Cate couldn't tell if she was crying from relief or from the physical effects of the chemo. "Please don't lie to me, mommy." She whispered, not believing.

"I'm not lying, babe." Cate whispered and Emma began to cry harder, allowing Cate to wrap her arms around her. "I am so proud of you, Emmaline."

Lux watched the scene unfold in front of her, feeling more of an outcast than ever. She knew she shouldn't have let her guard down; allowed Cate, Baze and Emma in, and now she knew she was going to pay the consequence. Honestly, she didn't want to get emancipated; she didn't want to lose her family, but she would never let herself admit that.

Cate and Emma were still beaming by the time Baze got home, and Emma stood up from the couch as her dad entered the house, Cate and Lux standing up from their own spots as well.

"I'm home!"

"Daddy, I'm in remission!" Emma grinned, fighting her exhaustion and nausea as she rushed into Baze's arms.

Baze caught her, looking over Emma's head at Cate in shock. Cate nodded, smiling lovingly.

"Oh, kiddo..." Baze breathed out. "You have no idea how great it is to hear that." Baze whispered, his eyes filling with tears as he held his daughter close, cupping the back of her head as he breathed in her scent.

Emma pulled back a few moments later when her phone started to ring, and Baze moved over to hug Cate.

"Hello?" Emma answered, her face lighting up when she heard who was on the other end.

She turned to Lux a second later, grinning and whispering before rushing off to her room for privacy. "It's Pete."

Cate looked confused. "Pete? Who's Pete?"

"Wait, who's Pete?" Baze spat the name with a mixture of anger and fear, switching his attention between Emma's retreating back and Lux.

Lux smirked, raising an eyebrow at their reactions. "Just some guy who was crushing on Emma at the hospital."

"A guy?"

Lux nodded at Cate's confusion, smirking as her parents exchanged a glance. A moment later she remembered and her expression changed as she turned to leave her parents in private.

"Lux..." Cate started unsure and Lux turned around reluctantly. "We want you to know, this doesn't change anything. I know you said that when Emma was better, you wanted to get emancipated. And if that's still what you want, we'll help you. But we want you to know, you will _always_ have a home with us, and we are_ always_ going to want you here. No matter what, okay?"

Lux nodded slowly before an expression from Cate caused her to nod more convincingly, her eyes filled with tears as she heard the words she so desperately needed to hear.


End file.
